The Story of Three Trees

I got this in a forwarded e-mail. Really like it and want to share it with you.

Three Trees

Max Lucado

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,
so 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 then 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's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not
our ways, but His ways are always best.

May your day be blessed.
May your road rise to meet you
May the wind be always be at your back
May the sun shine warmly upon your face
May the rain fall softly up on all that you plant
And until we meet again,
May God cradle you in the palm of His hand.

When bad things happen to good people

In response to the comment:

You don't get acquainted by chance. God meets you up for a purpose.

[max] what is the purpose of women being 'acquainted' with rapists who 'just happen to be' in the area ?

What is the purpose of that? I do not have a definate answer. It is really sad that women fall as victims to such evil men.

I can only say that we may not be able to choose what happens to us but we certainly can choose how we respond to whatever happens to us.

A Christian man who was caught and completely stripped in the Nazi camp during Word War 2, had his family separated from him, even his wedding ring removed from him, realized this truth in his darkest moment. In the attempt of the soldiers to crush his spirit, he realized that they could take away everything he had, but they could never take his freedom of choice on how to respond to circumstances.

I have also heard of a father who forgave and cared for a man who cruelly raped and murdered his daughter. This man even went to the extent to showing love, visiting the rapist cum murderer in prison and helped him turn over a new leaf.

Even when the innocent Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for sins he never commited, stark naked, experiencing the highest level of humiliation and pain, bearing the punishment of criminals, he showed us the choice of responding to circumstances. Instead of responding with bitterness and hatred, He said " Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."

Whatever happens in life, even when bad things happen to good people, what matters is how we respond to circumstances. God assures us that whatever he allows us to go through in life is what we are able to bear and that He will be there to help us through it . ( I Corinthians 10:13). If He puts us to it, He will help us through it.

Every circumtance allowed into our life gives us a choice to respond to is. Some circurmstance are direct results our own negligent or ignorant actions. Some situations may be so disastrous and traumatic, something that we may not deserve at all. But we don't get to choose what happens to us and trials only make us stronger and better people when we overcome it.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - I Thessalonians 5:16-18

No, i'm not saying that we be hard hearted and be elated when bad things happen. As human we will go through pain and heartache, mental unrest etc. What this verse is trying to do is to instill a positive mindset regardless of what happens. Even psychologists have discovered the power of positive thinking. With a positive mindset, we can go rise above whatever circumstances that come our way. If everyone in the world looked at the brighter side of things and worked towards overcoming life's trials with the right attitude, there would be no suicides.

There is a purpose for everything. We have the choice of how to respond to what happens.

Does Scripture legitimize evil?

In response to the comment:

Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Bible)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path."

It only legitimizes the actions of terrorists, of deranged mothers who commits paricide, and who knows what else .. on the basis of scripture.

In my opinion, this verse does not legitimize such actions. If we examine the verse carefully;

1) Trust in the Lord with all your heart

- If people truly trusted the Lord with all their heart, that He will do justice, that vengeance is His alone, would terrorists still launch their attacks? If mothers trusted god wholeheartedly that He is their Strength and Hope, wouldn't they be in a better state of mind?

2) Lean not onto your own understanding

-Human understanding is finite, based on selfish desires and emotions. But God's understanding surpasses that of man, which is why He tells us not to rely on our own. Human understanding will teach people "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" but god will tell them to "Love your enemy, and love your neighbour as you love yourself". God also says that murder is a sin. And god will give hope to the hopeless, assuring them "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Do all this permit the actions mentioned above?

3) In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.

- If people literally acknowledged god in all their ways, there would be no crime and wickedness at all in the world. Because god will lead people to do good; actions of love, kindness, strength, responsibility, courage, wisdom, integrity etc. Not the actions mentioned in the comments.

Therefore, scripture certainly does not legitimize such actions. Scripture should never be taken out ouf context nor be misinterpreted to justify irresponsible doings. Man should carry the responsibility for their own actions.

Everything Happens for a Reason

In response to the comment posted :

“everything happens for a reason”
What is the reason behind the death of thousands; 40% of which were children in the recent tsunami tragedy?

The tsunami tragedy on the 26th December 2004 took nearly 300,000 lives, of which 40% were children. And now another earthquake hits Sumatra - 29th March 2005.What is the reason behind this? I am sure this question perplexes countless around the globe, as the survivors attempt to piece the remaining of the lives together, having lost so much that have been of value to them.

I am not attempting to give a mind easing answer to this question but the first thing that came to my mind in response to this comment is the sermon I listened to at church shortly after the tsunami tragedy struck. “ The tsunami is an unprecedented calamity of natural proportion” said the pastor.

Amos 3:6 in the Bible says “…When disaster comes to a city, isn’t it because the Lord planned it?” Verses 10-11 say, “My people have forgotten what it means to do right,” says the Lord. “ Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence. “Therefore” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy is coming! He will surround them and shatter their defenses. Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”

Amos 5:8 goes on to say “ It is the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. It is he who turns darkness into morning and day into night. It is he who draws up waters from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the Land. The Lord is his name!”

Verse 9: With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses.

“Every deadly calamity is a merciful call from God to repent” declared the pastor, highlighting verse Amos 5:14-15 which says “Do what is good and run from evil – that you may live! Then the Lord God Almighty will truly be your helper, just as he proclaimed he is. Hate evil and love what is good; remodel your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on his people who remain.”

Jesus fortells the future over 2000 years ago in Matthew 24:6-8 ; “ And wars will break out near and far, but don’t panic” …Jesus told his followers…”Yes, these things must come but the end won’t follow immediately. The nations and kingdoms will proclaim wars against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this will only be the beginning of the horrors to come.”

Jesus foretells the future again in Luke 25-26: “ And there will be strange events in the skies – signs in the sun, moon and stars. And down here on earth, the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. The courage of many people will falter because of the fearful fate they see coming upon the earth, because the stability of the very heavens will be broken up.”

Acts 2:19-20 says “ And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below – blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon will turn blood red, before the great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.”

Does this mean there is no hope? No!….

Acts 2:21 : “ And anyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.”

In Luke 21:32-33, Jesus said, “ I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these events have taken place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.”


“Watch out! Don’t let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap. For that day will come upon every living on the earth.” Jesus concluded in Luke 34-35.

Thus, based on all these reference verses from the Bible that I have given, I would say that the reason for the deaths caused by tsunami is that the tsunami was meant to happen. Thus the loss of lives was inevitable.

The future was predicted for us so that we might believe and as Christians, not be taken aback but be prepared when these events take place.

Yes, I do not deny that countless innocent lives were lost in the tragedy. But we don’t get to choose how or when we die. We are alive today but we do not have any certainty of what tomorrow holds. Life is a temporary assignment. “ For we were born but yesterday….Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow”- Job 8:9.

The Bible is clear; “Friends, this world is not you home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.”- 1 Peter 2:11. Peter also explained in the Bible, “If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth” in chapter 1:17.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.

Based on all this, the question posed as the comment does not leave me in a quandary. Furthermore, all these events and tragedies give people all over the world the opportunity to exhibit the love of God by helping those in need. So many volunteer workers and people all around the globe have put love and compassion into action when they contributed in whatever way they could to the tsunami victims. How can love be shown if there is no need for it?

I also see it as a test of faith towards God. Do we still put our trust in Him and rise above our circumstances, putting the needs of others above ours, in situations such as these? Do we still believe that He is in control? After all the warnings, signs and assurances given to us?

My conclusion is that everything does happen for a reason, although we may not have immediate answer to every question that boggles our mind.

“Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power and everything is for his glory.” –Roman 11:36.

“The Lord has made everything for his own purposes.” – Proverbs 16:4

…And that is the reason to everything.

When I watched "The Diary of a Mad Black Woman"

It was on a humid night 2 weeks ago, that i watched the very touching and refreshing "The Diary of a Mad Black Woman." Even as my eyes captured the romantic moments and my ears listened intently to those romantic words said by the cute guy to the faithful black woman that had been thrown out of her house by her cruel husband, memories of my previous relationship came flooding in.

"All you have to do get up and I'll take over from there," said the cute guy to the beautiful black woman...."On one condition, you have to be my wife." These were also the words of my ex when i told him i didn't like to drive. I wonder if he watched the movie before me, and those lines were not really his?...Nah, i believe he was sincere at that time.....Sweet memories, kept forever in my heart, although not meant to last.

Once when i was walking with a different guy, and my slippers gave way, he put his hand on the ground and told me to step on it, instead of on stepping on the rocky ground. And a mosquito bit me at that time as well. And this guy told me, " If I could, I won't even allow the mosqitoe to bite you." This guy wasn't as good with words as my ex, but his actions proved it all. And he even dusted my sandy feet with his bare hands.....Wow,I have really been blessed with sweet memories of touching moments!

Coming back to the movie, on a more serious account, there are many lessons to be learnt. The first one was about forgiveness. The beautiful, faithful black woman had been married to her husband for 18 years. He was her first and only love. She sacrificed so much of her life for him, put her mother in a home for the aged so that he could fulfill his Amerian dream and the list could go on. There was nothing she knew how to do by herself, as she had been living in luxury with her husband. But he, on the other hand, chose to have flings with other women, and filed for a divorce to be with an immoral women, and even reached the extent of beating and throwing his wife out of their house on the wedding anniversary day. Being as wealthy as he was, he was unwilling to give her anything at all: not wealth, not money, not even kindness. Yet, when he was in a life or death situation, it was this black woman that chose to give him a chance to live. When he was paralyzed, it was his wife that stood by him while the other woman took his wealth and left. Despite all the evil he had done to her, although she innitially showed bitteness and was mad, she ultimately chose to forgive and repayed him with love and kindness.

The next lesson i learnt is that "God has the power to show who god is" and "You shall reap what you sow". Those were the last words of the black woman before she was chased out of their mansion for nothing she deserved. The husband was a rich and successful lawyer, who thought he could have and do whatever he wanted. He was trying to play god. But he finally realized the truth in his wife's words when he almost lost his life, became wheelchair bound and the very woman he left his wife for, abandoned him. He truly reaped what he sowed.

And it is so true that pride comes before downfall. Just shortly before he was shot near his spine, in the hearing regarding the divorce with his wife, his wife said that her husband could keep all his wealth as long as he just paid for her mother's home expenses. She showed no greed at all although she could have taken the opportunity to take as much money and possessions from him through the divorce. He told he she made a smart choice. He was greedy, trying to keep all his wealth from her, but in the end he nearly lost his life and his wealth was taken by the other woman whom he naively thought, loved him.

The third lesson i learnt was "don't open another door when you have not shut the previous one". The black woman's mother gave her this piece of advice when she found out that her daughter had fallen in love with the cute gentlemen although she had not yet legally divorced her husband. Even as i watched the movie, i realized that that piece of advice was for me and my ex...I had actually opened another door when the the previous one was still open, and so did my ex. The black woman did the right thing. She ended the relationship with the cute gentlemen while she cared for her helpless husband till she officially divorced him. Yes, the cute gentlemen had been hurt terribly by her returing to her husband that had been so cruel to her when he had personally showered her with so much love. But at the right time, the beautiful black woman returned to the cute gentlemen as she realized it was him that she loved.

The lesson that can be learnt from her ex-husband is that if you don't know how to treasure what you have, you will only realize its value once it's gone. The black woman was a good woman, a beautiful person who had truly loved him and him alone, all her married life. But he did not appreciate it, and lost her in the end.

And everything happens for a reason. The black woman was able to feel and experience sincere love and intimacy from the cute gentleman because her husband never gave it to her. It was something that she gave wholeheartedly to her husband but never received from him.

Another lesson can be learnt from another couple. The cousin of the black woman. He was married to a drug addict but he loved her despite all that, helped her and accepted her again in the end. True love is unconditional.

I also picked up something else from the strong charactered mother of the black woman; the woman who taught her daughter to forgive also portrayed forgiveness herself. It was evident that the daughter had lost link with her mother and family ever since she married her husband. Only when she was chased out of her house did she look for her family as she had nowhere else to turn to. And her mother, who had been sent to a home for the aged, welcomed her with open arms- with no bitterness or grudge against her daughter at all. She also proclaimed with optimism that nothing in the world can make he happy or sad because Jesus is with her and that is all that matters. Her positive outlook of life influenced her daughter to get on with her life when all hope seemed lost.

As for her grandmother, she also gave the beautiful black woman motivation to stand up on her own feet and rise up above her circumstances, as hopeless as they seemed. The girl who thought there was nothing she knew how to do finally pieced herself together and worked as a waitress, metamorphisizing into an independent woman.

"The Diary of a Mad Black Woman".....one movie that truly touched my heart and gave me many lessons to learn....My dear friends, you really should watch it, if u have not...Christians esspecially, you will love it!:)

For those of you who have watched the movie, you can post your comments to share how you feel about it. Others are free to post any opinions at all. Take care and God bless you always!!!!

Transformed by Trouble

Everything happens for a reason..................

I have always heard this phrase from friends and said it many times myself. In this trimester, it feel that i am really experiencing its meaning, and I am truly amazed by way the EVERYTHING happened.

I would say that relationship problem was my biggest problem! It caused me not only family problems but began interefering with my studies, that i realized it just wasn't meant to be. I would not go into the details of the whole story as it would be too long, but for those of you who had read my previous blogs may get a better picture. (its not available online now, but you can always find out from me)

Lesson 1

People walk in and out of our live but true friends leave footprints in our heart
Pirana was a great friend to the goldfish. Even though things lead to love, and reversed back to friendship, I must admit he was a great friend and has touched my heart in many ways.

Lesson 2

You don't get acquainted by chance. God meets you up for a purpose.
Pirana and i actually knew of each other's existence when they were little children because our parents were family friends. But we only talked when we met during my industrial training. Our acquaintance developed into friendship and soon evolved into love. Yes, there were many similarities and complements between us, but as the song goes, "Sometimes love just ain't enough"....and when you know that the two of you are just incompatible, it's better to end it earlier when the attachment is not yet too stong. It was nobody's fault. We were just incompatible.

But saying our first "Hi" to each other really had deeper purposes although it seemed to halt at friendship. I learnt many things about life and business from him. We also realized that there were many things that we wanted to do for God for a long time but we had kept putting it off. After becoming friends, we actually encouraged each other towards achieving those individual goals.

Pirana and I are not from the same church but he's very active and experienced in his youth group. I expressed the plight of the youth group in my church which was so inactive and its need for help. Pirana volunteered himself and he's doing a great job leading the young people, organizing various beneficial and meaningful activities to keep them occupied and develop themselves, and he's even helping youth with personal problems. Even now that we are just friends, his work for the Lord continues and i believe this was God's plan.

I also learnt a lot from the qualities he exhibited, and some of the things he has said and done are stuck with me for life. For example, when I was going through a rough patch in my life, he told me, "Look up into the sky. Take a deep breath and feel the presence of God." And that has just stuck with me. Sometimes when I walk to class with many cares on my mind, his words come to me and i feel comforted,remembering that God is there.

We had encouraged and strengthened each other a lot.I would say that knowing each other truly made us better people. God did plan our acquaintance.

Lesson 3

Problems in life are testing grounds. It makes you a stronger and better person.
I seriously ended my relationship with pirana during one of the most hectic and stressful time of my trimester; having 3 midterms in 2 weeks and loads of assignment and presentations. I told him I wanted to end it all when I had a paper the next morning at 8 am. I had not finished revising that night, but i knew I had to end what was leading nowhere or it would keep troubling my mind...with all the factors involved; family, studies, future plans, my own personality and his, other guys, church etc.

It was during my stressful period that the Lord taught me to discipline my mind to concentrate on my studies. Even when pirana knew I had an exam at 8am the next day, and yet disturbed my sleep at 4am through his unneccesary sms, Jesus helped me to focus on answering my paper and even gave me remarkable results despite the ordeal i went through ( i got the highest in class!). Truly, I owe that results to Jesus. I know I couldn't have achieved it by my own strength.

Seriously, it is through my darkest days that i have been privileged to experience the peace and strength of God by spending more time in prayer and reading the Word. And I have become a stronger person, both emotionally and mentally. This experience made me realize that it also takes strength to let go, and now when people share experiences of "break up", I know how it feels and can relate better to it. Besides, it will help me make wiser decisions in the future.

Truly:

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" - 2 Corinthians 4:17 (The Bible)

Joni Eareckson Tada (http://www.joniandfriends.org/about/tadabio.shtml), a well renowned writer and speaker who became paralyzed at the tender age of 17 due to a diving accident once said "When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, imitating him and by quoting Him and speaking about Him. But only in suffering, we KNOW Jesus.


Corrie then Boom (http://www.soon.org.uk/true_stories/holocaust.htm) , who suffered in a Nazi death camp during World War 2 talked about the power of focus: "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest."

Well, well......I know i have not gone through the kind of trials and suffering that these 2 remarkable women, among countless other men and women, have endured. But i have experienced the truth in what they say.

And indeed,

"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28 (The Bible)

So my dear friends, when troubles come your way, do not fret:)....You will be transformed for the better by troubles if you take it with the right attitude....Everything happens for a purpose:)