Once upon a springtime on the floor of an enormous forest, a small and tender shoot broke up through the ground. A pair of tiny leaves opened tentatively and felt the warmth of the sun for the very first time.
“Look! Look at me!” cried the little green shoot. “I am alive! The Lord has created me! He must have great plans for me indeed!” Days passed as the little plant continued to grow and strengthen. More leaves appeared. Photosynthesis started up in earnest and she drank from the life-giving earth and pulled energy from the carbon dioxide and sunlight surrounding her. Filled with exuberance, she prayed fervently to God. “Thank-you Lord, for creating me! I know you will do great things with me and I can’t wait until you tell me what my place in this wonderful world will be.”
Just then a baby rabbit hopped up and sniffed at the tender young shoot. Before the little plant had a chance to introduce herself, the bunny bit off and ate one of her leaves. The plant was shocked and horrified. “Help me Lord!” she prayed, and the bunny went on his way.
More time passed and the little shoot grew into a slender sapling. Although she was now much stronger, she was a little less confident and happy because she knew that bad things could happen to her at any time. She continued to ask God to reveal His plan. To ask Him what her role in creation would be.
A year went by. Insects nibbled at her leaves and roots. She suffered these small but countless agonies in humble silence, knowing that God had a plan for her.
More years went by and she grew into a fine, tall tree. Birds and squirrels made their nests and raised their families in her branches. Tired travelers rested in the shade at the base of her trunk. “Look at me now Lord,” she said. “I am big and strong and in the prime of my life. Tell me the task for which You have created me. I am ready.”
Seeds began to appear on her branches one summer and the tree was delighted. Perhaps she would begin a dynasty of fine trees that would a become part of the mighty forest surrounding her!
But autumn came and the wind blew the seeds away. “What are you doing to me Lord?” she cried in her grief. “All I want to do is to serve you and have a purpose but you never hear my prayers. Did you create me for nothing? I am so tired of being useless!”
Many, many years went by but nothing changed. The tree grew old and bitter. One summer a nearby tree was struck by lightning and destroyed. “Was that meant for me Lord? Why don’t you just kill me and end my useless existence?”
The very next spring a man passed by and marked her trunk with red paint. “What is this?” wondered the old tree. “He did not mark all the trees in the clearing, just me! I am special for some reason. Has my destiny finally arrived?”
A few weeks later, more men came with axes and saws. They chopped the tree down. As she lay dying, the men cut her trunk into logs and tossed them into a nearby river to be floated to the sawmill. In her final moments, she railed against the cruelty of God.
“Why did you even make me Lord? Just to have me killed? I tried so hard to be special, to be of some use to You and the world you created. But you never gave me a purpose! You never gave me a chance! My whole life has been a complete waste.”
“I hate you!”