God's plan.

October 13, 2006

God's plans(courtesy : Navendumahodaya)Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They werediscussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "SomedayI hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silverand precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving andeveryone would see the beauty."Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I willtake kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners ofthe world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength ofmy hull."Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest andstraightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hilland look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and howclose to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all timeand people will always remember me."After a few years

of praying that their dreams would come true, agroup of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the firsttree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should beable to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting itdown. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter wouldmake him into a treasure chest.At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, Ishould be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happybecause he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightenedbecause he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not cometrue. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special frommy tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into afeed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn

and filled withhay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree wascut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mightyship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cutinto large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, andthe trees forgot about their dreams.Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth andthey placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made fromthe first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for thebaby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel theimportance of this event and knew that it had held the greatesttreasure of all time.Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from thesecond tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they wereout on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think itwas strong enough to keep the men safe.

The men woke the sleepingman, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At thistime, 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 throughthe streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. Whenthey came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in theair to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came torealize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill andbe as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucifiedon it.The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be goingyour way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place yourtrust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees gotwhat they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don'talways know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His waysmight

not be our ways, but His ways are always best.

"Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.