A popular children’s tale tells us how there were three trees in a forest. These trees had bold dreams. The first dreamt of becoming a treasure chest holding gold and jewels, the second dreamt of becoming a great ship carrying kings and queens across the oceans, the third dreamt of becoming the tallest tree in the world, pointing towards the sky, that all may look up and contemplate God.
Many years went by, and the woodcutters came by. The trees were ecstatic as they thought that their dreams would surely come to fruition. The first was chopped up and was made into a trough to hold animal feed and hay. It was placed in a barn. The second was brought to a ship yard, but instead of being made into a magnificent ship was made into a humble fishing boat. The third, was left forgotten in a pile of timber. More years passed by and the trees lost all hope of ever having their dreams come true.
One quiet night, an intense beam of starlight shone unto the feeding trough as a woman and a man placed a child into it to rest. Angelic voices were heard heralding the new born, and the first tree knew that it carried the greatest treasure in the world.
One day, some men boarded a fishing boat and sailed out into the deep. One of them fell asleep on the deck. Suddenly, a tremendous storm arose and nearly capsized the boat. The burly men cried out in fear. Then the sleeping man awoke, and stretching out His hand to the water, said, “Be still!” and the rolling tempest quelled. The tree then knew it was carrying the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
The tree that was lying forgotten in a pile of timber, was yanked rudely from its slumber. Some soldiers fastened ropes to it and made a man carry it all the way to the top of a hill.
At the top of a hill, the man was nailed to the third tree, and died. After the third day, however, the stone of the man’s grave rolled away and everything changed. The tree then knew that it had carried Jesus who died and he rose from the dead, so as to bring salvation to humanity. It would thus forever be a sign of God’s love as all of Mankind gaze upon it.
In the end, when the trees had long but forgotten their dreams, the dreams of the three trees came into being, but not in the manner which they expected.
We will never know God’s plans for us, but that dream that we have, has been planted in our hearts for a reason. Far beyond our wildest hopes and expectations, it is the LORD God who will perfect this dream in us in the right time and the right season.
By Brian Bartholomew Tan
What is the dream which God has planted in your heart?
“For God does speak, once,
even twice, though you do not see it: In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon mortals, as they slumber in their beds.”
– Job 33: 14-15