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God's Plan
(As shared by my good friend, Cheryl)
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 tallest 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 a
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 the 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 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 the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got into
a 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...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.
Amen
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