Once there were three trees on a hill. 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 woodsman 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 women 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 it’s 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; Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. This is generally the way life is, rarely does our dreams unfold as we would like for them to, but in the end, as long as we perserver and have patience, great things will come.
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have a dreamy day
12 comments
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December 19, 2011 at 7:55 am
willowdot21
As ever you have stopped me in my tracks again today and made me think. I would like to say in all honesty and not wishing to sound preachy or sarcastic that God must of guided me to find you. Thank you so much and Happy Christmas to you and all of yours! xxx
December 20, 2011 at 8:09 am
zendictive
merry christmas to you willowdot and I am so glad you like the messages these stories give (~_~)
December 19, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Janece
Ahhhh. I wasn’t anticipating this ending exactly, but it’s perfect, isn’t it??? A very encouraging story for some of us trees who (a) never thought we’d amount to much and (b) stopped believing in our dreams. 🙂
December 20, 2011 at 8:10 am
zendictive
so true… thank you Janece (~_~) never give up… is a message for us all !!!
December 19, 2011 at 5:58 pm
iamforchange
A very Beautiful story! I thank you for sharing it and it is so true…. We never know yet in the end great things happen in the most unexpected ways!
December 20, 2011 at 8:11 am
zendictive
bows (~_~) humble
December 20, 2011 at 3:26 am
renxkyoko
Oh, my. This is so touching. As ever, Zendictive, this one is so beautiful.,,, the ending is so unexpected. Thanks for sharing.
happy Holidays !
December 20, 2011 at 8:12 am
zendictive
and… happy holidays to you too (~_~) I am glad you liked the story!!
December 20, 2011 at 11:05 am
granbee
Art, you take first prize for Best Encouragement Geni today with this post! I have heard this story of the tree trees before, but I always glean a little addtional inspiration and wisdom from it upon each hearing/reading! Thank you!
December 20, 2011 at 4:57 pm
zendictive
well christmas stories are like christmas movies
tis the season to hear them again (~_~) have a quality day
December 22, 2011 at 1:49 am
Cindi Pugliese
Beautiful story. How true it is that we may be given what we want, just not in the way we thought.
December 19, 2012 at 7:13 am
Merry Christmas « zendictive
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