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Topic: Calling, Dreams , Purpose
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 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 knew
he was on his way to be-coming 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 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 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 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.
Anon