Three trees

I know that I was going to talk about the blessing way this time, but I just felt like telling a story first.....


There was a time when a huge tree lived on the shore of an even bigger lake. She was a very tall and strong tree, roots sunk deep into the earth...
In due course if life she put forth three little seedlings. They grew under the protection of their mother, and in time, they themselves became very strong .
Their mother spent many hours telling her children about the world and all that is in it. Explaining all the activity they saw on the lake, and telling stories about life.
She began one day to explain about the eventual "harvesting" that they would have to endure.
Their mother told them that at some point after they were fully grown, the woodsmen would come and cut them down, and create something else with them.
She asked them what they wanted to be. and the first tree answered, "I have been standing here for a long time, and I have watched mothers with their babies in a cradle, I love those little babies and I think that I would love to be a cradle."
She then asked the second tree and the answer was this, "I have been standing here for a long time, I have watched the ships on the lake carrying their cargo of beautiful goods. I would like to be a ship and carry important goods!"
Then the mother asked the third tree and the answer was this, "I have been standing here for a long time, I would like to remain standing here a just point up to the Creator!"
The time that their mother had been talking about did come, the woodsmen came and cut down the three trees.
The first tree was fashioned into a feeding trough where animals ate, and the tree was very much disappointed and heart broken.
The second tree was made into a fishing boat, with people that were rough on it and didn't keep it clean at all. The tree was very distraught also.
The third tree was just quartered and thrown into the lumber rack to season for years. This tree was also very heart broken over this.

Years had passed, their lives had not turned out the way that they had hoped for, and all three were saddened with depression.
Then it came to pass that during the winter there were a young couple traveling and the woman was heavy in labor, about to have a child. The feeding trough saw the whole thing, the effort that it took that young woman to bring forth this new life. He heard the cries of the young woman and the cries of the infant child. When this child was placed in him, all sadness drained from his soul and he was filled with joy! "Never could I imagine that I would have the honer of holding this child.... Thank You!!!"
Some thirty years would pass and that old fishing boat was out on the lake, caught up in a storm. The people on board were frightened and yelling, "Lord save us!!" All save one, He was asleep in the bow of the boat. When this man awoke, He spoke down the storm and the waters were stilled. The tree, now fishing boat, realized who was on board and said, "Never could I imagine that I would have the honer of carrying this man... Thank You!!!"
Just a short time later the third tree had become dry and hard. Someone came a took him out of the rack, and made a cross beam out of him. He was then taken to a place where there was a man ready to carry him away. The man was being chastised while trying to carry this big cross beam, he even dropped him three times on the way. But this did not anger the tree, it was being filled with remorse, and sadness for this mans treatment at the hands of others.
The man finally made it to the top of a rocky hill and the cross beam was placed over another beam and nailed together.
To the trees horror, the man was then thrown down to the ground and nailed to him, raised up and dropped into its resting place. The tree then said, "Never could I imagine that I would have the honer of holding this man, pointing Him to the Creator, Thank You!!"

The point of the story is this, There is a work that has been started in us. We don't see the end result because the work is not completed yet. We shouldn't be heart broken, or disappointed because things are not turning out the way we expected them to. Some times it requires us to go to the threshing floor of the One who has created us. Gold is not gold until it endures the refiners fire.

The work that has been started, WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED!!! So it seems better to give thanks for whatever trials that we face, for they are the bringers of true spirit taught love that comes from the broken. They are just squeezing out the pulp and creating the new wine!
Look around at all the beautiful creation, it cries out to us to see and participate in this great work that is shaping all things into the likeness of His Son...
I am what I am..... for now.....