Once there were three trees
high 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 filled with gold,
silver and precious gems.
I could be decorated with intricate carving
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
watersand sail to the four 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 hoping 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 hoped that
thecarpenter would make him into a
treasure chest.
At the second tree a 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 hoped
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 woodsman said,
"I don't need anything special
from my tree so I'll take this one"
and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the
carpenter's,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 hoped 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 large pieces
and left alone in the dark.
The years went by, and the trees forgot
about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and women 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 forthe 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.
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.
Author Unknown
