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 the 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, 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  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 plans  for us. We just know that His ways are  not our ways, but His ways are always best.