The Tale of Three Trees

I'm in the car heading to Tangerang now.
I was still thinking about my last post when I opened my Joel Osteen book "Your Best Life Now" in random, and found this inspiring story. It really connects with my last post. I'm going to quote it below.

"I recently read a retelling of the timeless story The Tale of Three Trees. This fictious children's book relates the lofty aspirations of an olive tree, an oak tree, and a pine tree. Each of these trees had a great dream to become something special in life. The olive tree dreamed of becoming a finely crafted treasure chest. It wanted to hold gold, silver, and precious jewels. One day, a woodsman chose the one olive tree, out of all the trees in the forest, and cut it down. The olive tree was so thrilled. But as the craftsmen began working on him, the tree realized they weren't making him into a manager to hold food for dirty, smelly animals. Heartbroken, his dreams were shattered. He felt worthless and demeaned.

'Similarly, the oak tree dreamed of becoming part of a huge ship that would carry important kings across the ocean. When the woodsman cut down the oak, he was so excited. But as time went on, he realized the craftsmen weren't making him into a huge ship. They were making him into a tiny fishing boat. He was so discouraged, so disappointed.

'The pine tree lived on top of high mountain. Its only dream was to stand tall and remind people of God's great creation. But in a split second, a bolt of lightning sent it tumbling to the ground, destroying its dreams. The woodsman came and picked it up and carried it off to the scrap pile.

'All three of these trees felt they had lost their value and their worth, they were so discouraged, so disappointed. Not one of their dreams had come to pass. But God had other plans for these trees. Many years later, Mary and Josepsh couldn't find any plae to give birth to their little baby boy. They finally found a stable, and when Jesus was born they plaed Him in a manger made from - you guessed it - the olive tree. The olive tree had wanted to hold precious jewels, buy God had better plans, and it now held the greatest treasure of all time, the Son of God.

'A few years went by and Jesus grew up. One day, He needed a boat to cross to the other side of the lake. He didn't choose a large, fancy ship; He chose a small, simple fishing boat made from - you guessed it - the oak tree. The oak tree wanted to carry important kings across the ocean, but God had better plans. The oak now carried the King of kings.

'A few years went by, and one day some Roman soldiers were rummaging around in the pile of scrap wood were the discarded ine tree lay. That pine tree just knew they were coming to cut him up for firewood. But much to its surprise, they cut only two small pieces out of it and formed it into a cross. And it was on this pine tree that Jesus was crucified. That tree is still pointing people to God's love and God's compassion to this day.

'The point of this classic story is clear: All the trees thought thet had lost their value, that their stories were over, yet they became integral parts of the greatest story ever told.

'God knows ur value; He sees your potential. You may not understand everything you are going through right now. But hold your head up high, knowing that God is in control and He has a great plan and purpose for you life. Your dreams may not have turned out exactly as you'd hoped, but the Bible says that God's way are better and higher than our ways. Even when everybody else rejects you, remember, God stands before you with His arms open wide. He always accepts you. Ge always confirms your value. God sees your two good moves! You are His prized possession. No matter what you go through in life, no matter how many disappointmens you suffer, your value in God's eyes always remain the same. You will always be the apple of His eye. He will never give up on you, so don't give up on youself."
Source: Osteen 2004, 70

My eyes are all teary after I read this. See, u r precious in God's eyes. If He believes in you, why don't u hv faith in urselves?

Through Joel Osteen, a man I consider as an angel, God speaks to many people. I like Joes Osteen cause his words are not judgemental, but inspiring. He's not preaching, but sharing. Everyone should read his book.

Love Love