inspiring story

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 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.