A Tale of Three Trees- A Must Read.

Once upon a time 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 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 be still", 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.
Keep this moving... share it with others, so it
could inspire more people on its way. Sometimes
the heart sees what
the eyes can't.

Source: Inspirational Touch