The Easter Tree

THE EASTER TREE

God wandered through the forest, weaving in and out of the rows upon rows of trees which all stood tall and proud.
God spoke to the trees, “I need a special tree to be shaped into a cross for my son. Although he will only be on the cross for a short time and he will rise again, it will always be remembered throughout time that he died on the cross. This will be a great historical event. Very soon I will be choosing one of you for this very important job.”

The trees talked amongst themselves and wondered which one of them would be picked.
Near the edge of the forest stood a tree smaller than the others. It wanted to be picked for this very important job, but he knew the trees around him were bigger and stronger.
One tall tree said, “Surely God will pick one of us tall ones. We can make a big, strong cross.”
This made the small tree say, “Well God, I'm not the tallest tree here, but I will stand as tall as I can.” So the small tree straightened and stood as tall as it could.
A nearby tree laughed at it and said, “Stand tall if you can. But God will choose me. I produce lots of leaves. Everyone comes to me because I can give the best shade.”

The small tree thought, “I may not have the most leaves but I will produce the biggest greenest leaves I can make.”
A tree on the other side said, “I would rather be a Christmas Tree, with all of my branches, lots of lights and decorations can be hung on me.”
The small tree looked at his own branches, and realized he didn”t have as many as the bigger trees.

Two lumberjacks went into the forest to hew down some trees for firewood. One man got his axe out to cut down the small tree. The other man said to him, “Don't bother cutting down the small tree. That won't give us enough wood to burn and to keep us warm.”
The little tree felt sad. “If I'm no use for firewood, why would God want me for a very important job?”

Big black bellowing clouds came over the land. The wind howled. A blinding flash of lightning lit the forest followed by a loud clap of thunder. The rain pelted down and all the tree limbs dangled and drooped as the rain soaked the wood. The little tree shook with fear and prayed, “God, I…I'm s…so frightened, but I know you will keep me safe in this storm.”
The wind was twisting, swaying and bending the trees and their branches in all directions. The small tree was nearly pulled from the ground. Then he prayed, “Lord! Help me stand. I…I'm nearly being torn from the ground.”
One of the big trees groaned in the wind and said, “I can't stand this anymore!” That tree fell to the ground. Other trees lost some of their branches.
At last, the storm passed and all was calm again. The sun shone and warmed and dried the trees.

It was time for God to pick the tree for his son to die on. All the trees once again stood tall and proud all hoping to be chosen. The little tree hung his branches low and bowed his head. He didn't look anything like the majestic trees around him.
God stopped in front of the little tree and lifted its branches, then said, “I have made my choice. This little tree here may not be the tallest, but he stood as tall as he could. This little tree does not have the most leaves, but all of his leaves are good. This little tree may not provide lots of wood, but I don't want anything too heavy for my son to carry. He doesn”t have as many branches as the rest of you, but this tree, when it is shaped into a cross won't have pretty decorations on it. When the storms came and the strong winds blew, this little tree stood in the ground and trusted me to keep him safe.”

The little tree was so happy. God pulled the little tree out of the ground, but the little tree didn't mind because he knew he had been chosen to do the most important job, one that would always be remembered. When the Lumberjacks came into the woods to get a tree, they took away the little tree that was lying on the ground.

The Easter Tree is not like a Christmas tree that is adorned with lights and tinsel, but a simple cross that reminds us of what Jesus did for us.

796 words
Alexandra