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."
 
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 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 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.