Trees

Once there were three trees on a hillin the woods. They were discussingtheir hopes and dreams when the firsttree said, "Someday I hope to be atreasure chest. I could be filled withgold, silver and precious gems. couldbe decorated with intricate carvingand everyone would see the beauty."Then the second tree said, "Someday Iwill be a mighty ship. I will takekings and queens across the waters andsail to the corners of the world.Everyone will feel safe in me becauseof the strength of my hull." Finallythe third tree said, "I want to growto be the tallest and straightest treein the forest. People will see me ontop of the hill and look up to mybranches, and think of the heavens andGod and how close to them I amreaching. I will be the greatest treeof all time and people will alwaysremember me."After a few years of praying thattheir dreams would come true, a groupof woodsmen came upon the trees. Whenone came to the first tree hesaid, "This looks like a strong tree,I think I should be able to sell thewood to a carpenter" ... and he begancutting it down. The tree was happy,because he knew that the carpenterwould make him into a treasure chest.At the second tree a woodsmansaid, "This looks like a strong tree,I should be able to sell it to theshipyard." The second tree was happybecause he knew he was on his way tobecoming a mighty ship. When thewoodsmen came upon the third tree, thetree was frightened because he knewthat if they cut him down his dreamswould not come true. One of thewoodsmen said, "I don't need anythingspecial from my tree so I'll take thisone", and he cut it down."When the first tree arrived at thecarpenters, he was made into a feedbox for animals. He was then placed ina barn and filled with hay. This wasnot at all what he had prayed for. Thesecond tree was cut and made into asmall fishing boat. His dreams ofbeing a mighty ship and carrying kingshad come to an end. The third tree wascut into large pieces and left alonein the dark.The years went by, and the treesforgot about their dreams. Then oneday, a man and woman came to the barn.She gave birth and they placed thebaby in the hay in the feed box thatwas made from the first tree. The manwished that he could have made a cribfor the baby, but this manger wouldhave to do. The tree could feel theimportance of this event and knew thatit had held the greatest treasure ofall time.Years later, a group of men got in thefishing boat made from the secondtree. One of them was tired and wentto sleep. While they were out on thewater, a great storm arose and thetree didn't think it was strong enoughto keep the men safe. The men woke thesleeping man, and he stood andsaid "Peace" and the storm stopped. Atthis time, the tree knew that it hadcarried the King of Kings in its boat.Finally, someone came and got thethird tree. It was carried through thestreets as the people mocked the manwho was carrying it. When they came toa stop, the man was nailed to the treeand raised in the air to die at thetop of a hill. When Sunday came, thetree came to realize that it wasstrong enough to stand at the top ofthe hill and be as close to God as waspossible, because Jesus had beencrucified on it.The moral of this story is that whenthings don't seem to be going yourway, always know that God has a planfor you. If you place your trust inHim, He will give you great gifts.Each of the trees got what theywanted, just not in the way they hadimagined. We don't always know whatGod's plans are for us. His delays arenot his denials. He makes all thingsbeautiful in his own way, in His owntime.