The
United Methodist
Church of Chinchilla
Cherokee
Indian Legend
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..
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.' ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7 ~
This page was last updated on: May 01, 2008
Our thanks to William Kerber for providing this space!