Theme: Divine Providence, humility

The three trees

At the top of a mountain, three young trees watched the village they saw below and talked about what they would like to be when they were big.

The first, seeing how rare jewelry and stones were valued, said:

- I wish my wood to be used to make a box of treasures. I will cherish the most precious treasure that men can have.

The second tree wanted a busier life, and exclaimed:

- I want my wood to be used in a carriage! I will help to transport, carefully, a very wise and powerful king.

The third tree, following the same ideal of grandeur as her friends, declared:

- I would like to be part of a castle structure. The most beautiful, of the most important kingdom of all.

Time passed and the trees grew. From time to time, they thought about the future that awaited them. And they remembered their dreams and the desire to serve events of great importance.

God, that know everything, recorded the intimate desires of the trees.

One day, a lumberjack went up the mountain. Seeing those big trees with thick stems, he cut the first and the second, taking them to the village.

In the hands of skilled woodworkers, they were managed on to make themselves useful. However, contrary to what the trees expected, the first was transformed into an animal trough and made to serve in a simple stable.

The second tree was also carved and became a small boat, starting to transport fishermen and fish every day.

The third tree remained on the mountain. Larger and more beautiful, it housed birds, bore fruit and spread freshness with the shade of its large canopy. The tree was quite useful, but despite this, it was waiting for the day when it could also, perhaps, have its dream come true.

The three trees humbly accepted the functions they were called to perform every day, although they were sometimes far from the ideals they had dreamed of in their youth.

At a happy night, full of stars, where peace and love were felt in the air as a soft melody, a couple took shelter in a stable. The trough, into which the first tree had been transformed, covered with hay, served as a cradle for a delicate newborn baby. The most important man who ever lived on Earth had just been born in that humble stable. The first tree could feel, at that moment, that it held the greatest treasure. It took him in, satisfied, with immense tenderness.

Time passed and, when that child had already become a man, one day he went on a boat with his fishing friends. It was the second tree, which served as a transport. The man ended up sleeping on the boat, but very strong winds terrified the fishermen. The man then got up and calmed the storm. Immediately, the second tree understood that there was someone more powerful and more important than any king could be. Accomplished, it felt she was truly privileged.

On another occasion, the same man went up the mountain. The people gathered below to listen to his teachings. There, next to the third tree, Jesus spoke the most beautiful words of consolation, hope and love that have ever been heard. These words became known as the Sermon on the Mount.

People, looking up, saw the sky, Jesus and all nature that formed a sublime landscape. At that moment, the third tree felt, moved, that it was part of the Kingdom of God, the largest and most beautiful kingdom that exists. And there was, beside it, an incomparable sovereign. Grateful, it opened its branches wide and happily recognized the wonderful role it played as part of nature.

The three humble trees thought that their dreams would no longer come true, but they always served. And that was how God, with the resource of time, fulfilled their desires, in a way even greater than they themselves had dreamed.

Source: Adaptation of a folk tale of the same title.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com