I have kept this story since i was in high school. It has given me hope during the darkest of nights, reminding me that dark nights produce the brightest stars in the sky..tps
Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said, “I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I’ll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!
The second little tree looked out at a small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. “I want to travel mighty waters and carry the powerful kings. I’ll be the strongest ship in the world!
The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they will raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world!”
Years passed. The rains came, the sun shone, and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, “this tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me.” With a swoop of his shining axe, the first tree fell. “Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest and will hold beautiful treasure!” the first tree said.
The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, “This tree is strong. It is perfect for me. With a swoop of his shining axe, the second tree fell.” Now I shall sail mighty waters!” thought the second tree, “ I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!”
The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. “Any kind of tree will do for me.” He muttered. He swung his axe, and the third tree fell.
The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter’s shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold nor with treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.
The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river; instead she was taken to a little lake.
The third woodcutter didn’t build anything from the third tree; he just cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard to be forgotten.
Many years passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox. “I wish I could make a cradle for him,” the father whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood. “This manger is beautiful,” she said. And suddenly the first tree knew she was holding the greatest treasure in the world.
One evening a tired traveller and his friends crowded into an old fishing boat by the lake. The traveller fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The second little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the kind of wind and the pouring rain.
The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, “Peace, be calm” The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly, the second tree knew she was carrying someone greater than any mere king.
One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked out from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry, jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man’s bloodied hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.
But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose from the horizon and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God’s love for mankind had changed everything. The tree, which had been chopped down and forgotten was the cross where the king of heaven and earth died on so people all over the earth could have everlasting life.
So next time you feel down because you didn’t get what you wanted, sit tight and be at peace with the world, because God is thinking of something better to give you.
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