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 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 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
my tree, so I'll 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 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 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 its 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 a 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.
http://www.bibleclaret.org/ Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48839.0
