THE
LEGEND OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN Do you know
the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage? His father
takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required
to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays
of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once
he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience
because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally
terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around
him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth,
and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would
be the only way he could become a man! Finally, after a horrific night,
the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered
his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night,
protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone (Hebrews 13:5-6).
Even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us, sitting on
the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.
Moral of the Story: Just because
you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there. "For we walk by
faith, not by sight." | |