Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were
discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be
a treasure chest. I could be decorated with intricate carvings and
everyone would see the beauty."
Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will
take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the
world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."
Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and
straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill
and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close
to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people
will always remember me."
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group
of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he
said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the
wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy,
because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure
chest.
At the second tree the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I
should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy
because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. When the
woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he
knew that if they cut him down, his dreams would not come true. One of
the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from this tree, I'll
just take this one and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed
box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This
was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made
into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and
carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into pieces
and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about
their dreams...
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they
placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first
tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but
this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of
this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the
second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on
the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong
enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and
said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it
had carried the King of Kings in it's boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through
the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they
came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die
at the top of the hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it
was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God
as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it...
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your
way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust
in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they
wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know
what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways,
but His ways are always best.