one of my favourite stories!

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." |
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| 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." |
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| 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." |
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| |
|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. |
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| |
| 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. |
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| |
| 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. |
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| |
|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. |
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| |
| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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.