This is the story about 3 young trees living in a forest. Each of them held a dream in their heart about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Thefirst tree said, I want to be crafted into a treasure chest, keeping the most precious of treasures. Storing beautiful, glittering gems, jewels and gold!
The second tree said, ‘’I want to become a great and mighty boat. I will carry kings and queens over huge seas and fend off mighty waves!’’
The third one said, ‘’When I grow up, I want to be a tall, magnificent and beautiful tree. People who see me will awe at the strength of my branches and the lush green of my leaves - the beautiful work of God. And whoever who looks up at me will see the skies of heaven and think of Gods greatness.’’
So time passed by unnoticed, and one fine day, three strong lumberjacks came to the forest and chopped down the 3 trees. The first two trees were excited about finally achieving their dreams, while the third tree became sad because it knew now it could never achieve its dream.
However, the first tree wasn’t made into a treasure chest, but into a feed box for animals. The second tree into a small boat for catching fish. And thethird was sawed into long beams, stored somewhere dark and forgotten. They could no longer become what they wanted to be and lost hope in their dreams, accepting cruel fate.
Then one night, a star in the dark sky shone brightly on the first tree, the feedbox. It was used as a cradle to hold a beautiful little baby. It felt proud and happy because it realized that the baby it was holding, Lord Jesus, was the greatest and most precious treasure of all.
The second tree, now a boat, was out to sea when a dreaded storm came. Strong waves started beating against it, endangering the lives of the people on it. Suddenly a man awoke, stood up and commanded the seas to be still, and they did. Suddenly, the boat realized that it must be in the presence of the King of kings, one who controls the storms and has power over the seas.
The third was made into a large cross. Jesus was crucified on it and died there. Everyone saw that the Saviour of the world had died for them upon that very tree. And every time people looked at or thought of the tree, they would think of God. Finally, the tree realized, it had truly achieved its dream and more, for not only did people think of God when they laid eyes upon the tree, they also remembered Gods greatest sacrifice for them all.
The moral of this story is that when things dont 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 dont always know what Gods plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.