The Tree and the Stones (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798992738148)

This is a story of how something seemingly insignificant and unworthy can end up having a role larger than life. It is told from the perspective of the tree that became the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. The cedar tree was growing alone atop a stone ridge just outside a Biblical town. Somehow, the tree had taken root and grown amongst the largest stones that formed the rocky ridge beyond the town. The stones were very important to the townspeople since they were used in building and other major projects. The stones were arrogantly proud of their importance and status, and constantly belittled the tree trying to grow among them. The stones constantly told the tree how uselessness it was compared to the stones' more enduring strengths. One day, the tree's life was upended when a special man came and prayed beneath its shade. The man spoke to large crowds of people who gathered below on the rocky outcrops. Soon after, the tree found itself being cut down for reasons it could not understand. Some men then dragged it into town where it was cut and hewn into beams. The tree did not understand why any of that was happening and worried about what was to become of it. The tree remembered its good times up on the ridge where it could provide shade and a home to the birds. But that was now all in the past. The men cut and carved the tree's wooden beams to make the cross upon which the special man was nailed. Because of what that man had done and the tree's role in his final hours, the tree's life had now become far more important and enduring than that of any stone.