Sometimes we get what we need and not
what we want..........
Once there were 3 trees on a hill in the woods.
They were discussing
their hopes and dreams when the 1st tree
said, "Someday, I hope to be a
treasure chest. I could be filled with
gold, silver and precious gems
and be decorated with intricate
carvings. Everyone would see my
beauty."
The 2nd tree said, "Someday, I will be !
a mighty ship. I will take kings
and queens across the waters and sail to
the corners of other world.
Everyone will feel safe in me because of
the strength of my hull."
Finally, the 3rd 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. One
came to the 1st tree and 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 2nd tree, one of the other
woodsman said, "This looks like a
strong tree. I should be able to sell!
it to the shipyard." The 2nd tree
was happy, because he knew he was on his
way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the 3rd
tree, the tree was frightened,
because it knew that, if it cuts down,
its dream 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 1st tree arrived at the
carpenter's, he was made into a feed
box for animals, placed in a barn and
filled with hay. This was not at
all what he had prayed for.
The 2nd 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 3rd 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
filtered 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, and the crowd mocked the
man who was carrying it.
Finally, 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
Keep it moving...pass it on, so it could
inspire more people.
Sometimes the heart sees what the eyes
can't.
God bless us all!