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TOUCHY
Guest
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Sometimes we get what we need and not what we want..........
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 and be decorated with intricate
carvings. Everyone would see my beauty."
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. One came to the first tree
and 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, one of the other
woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to
sell it to the shipyard." The a 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 it knew that, if it was cut down, its 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 carpenter's, he was made into a
feed box for animals, 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 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, and the crowd mocked the man who was carrying it.
Finally, 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.
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