Three Trees
Once upon a time three trees grew together on the top of a wooded hill.Often, as the rains fell and the sun shone and the wind riffled their leaves, and they slowly grew, they would quietly discuss their hopes and dreams.
The first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a finely made treasure chest! I will be filled with gold and silver and precious gems, and everyone will appreciate the intricate carvings that reveal the beauty of my inner nature - which at present goes unnoticed in this forest."
The second said, "Someday I wish to be part of a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to all corners of the world. Everyone will appreciate my qualities and feel safe in me because of the strength of my timbers."
The third tree said, "My dream is to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest, to grow for hundreds of years so that people will come to see me on top of this hill and look up at me in awe, and think of the heavens and of God and how He gives life and strength to all - and I will be the greatest tree of all time, so people will always remember me."
After a few years of praying and dreaming together in the wilderness a group of woodsmen came upon them.
One came to the first tree and said, "This looks like a tree of fine calibre. I will probably be able to sell the wood to a carpenter," ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy. Listening to the woodsman he felt that his fine grain was appreciated - that he would be made into a beautiful treasure chest.At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipwright." The second tree was happy because he knew in his heart that he was on his way to becoming part of a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened, for he knew that if they cut him down now his dream would never come true. His heart shriveled and the sap dried in him as he heard one of the woodsmen say, "I don't need anything special from a tree, so I'll take this one," ... and he cut it down, not realising the dream that was being destroyed.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters it was made into a feedbox for animals, which was placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what the tree had prayed for.
The second tree was crudely cut and made into a small fishing boat to sail on a little inland lake. His dreams of being part of a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The third tree was cut into thick planks and left alone in a dark shed.
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 to a boy and they placed the baby on the hay in the feedbox that had been made from the first tree, turning it into a crib. The tree felt a thrill run through every knot and grain, became alive and aware of the importance of the moment, knowing without doubt that it contained the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got into the small fishing boat that had been made from the second tree. One of the men was tired and went to sleep.
While they were out on the water a great storm rose and the tree began to think it was not stout enough to keep the men safe. Local shipwrights had not shown great skill in putting together its timbers. The terrified men wakened the man who slept, and he rebuked them for being men of little faith, and standing up he said to the raging wind and water, "Peace!" and the storm ceased.
While the men stared in amazement a thrill of recognition spread through every part of the second tree, for it knew with surety that - despite the improbability, despite the impossibility - it carried the King of Kings.
Finally, two or three years later, a squad of men burst into the dark store where lay the planks of the third tree. Cut and roughly mitered, two of the thickest planks were carried through the streets by a man who stumbled often and fell, as many of the watching crowd jeered and mocked, while others shed tears of pity at the sight of such cruelty and suffering.
When they came to a stop at the top of a hill, bare and bereft of trees, as bald as a skull, the man was nailed to the remains of the third tree and raised in the air so that all could see, and as the man slowly died on the rough-cut timber the tree realised that it was indeed tall enough and strong enough to stand at the top of this hill, and that it could indeed play a part in drawing people closer to God, for it bore God Incarnate upon its jagged wood and the precious blood of the Saviour ran through its fibres to became part of it and part of the universe.
"I did not know", thought the tree, "that in this way I would find fulfillment. I thought that I would forever live in the dark and never see my dream come true. I see now that You, O God, have a plan for each one of us - that while our first dreams may be full of vainglory, and not worthy of being fulfilled - You, in Your love for those who have faith and dream impossible dreams, will refine and change them, and fulfill them in a much greater way - if we trust in You."
"Your Ways are sure and certain. You breathe into our hearts the breath of true Life and true Glory. You fulfill the dreams of everything and everyone that exists."
NOTE:
I have just re-written this
most beautiful and meaningful story.
If you like it as much as I do Please copy and email to your friends
BUT
DO NOT USE IN A PUBLICATION THAT IS FOR SALE
or I'll be after you! Begorrah I will! 
And I'm fearsome once I'm riz!
Many Thanks,
5 December 1999,
© Michael O'Shea
36 High Street,
Ardglass,
County Down,
N. Ireland BT30 7SP
Tel/Fax: 028 44 841436
Email: mike@o2c.org