Thursday 5 June 2008

A 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, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Just because you can't see God,

Doesn't mean He is not there.

'For we walk by faith, not by sight.

12 comments:

Profile Not Available said...

A truly beautiful post! I am glad I stopped by to read it!

Reader Wil said...

Thanks Kelly!

Patty said...

What a wonderful story.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks Patty! I got it from Karien!

Dina said...

A welcome image in words.

Reader Wil said...

Hi Dina, my Australian daughter sent it to me. She is very much interested in indigenous people of Australia and America. So were my husband and I.

Shelley said...

This is a lovely story - a great one to share on father's day!

Pernille said...

Very beautiful post. Wonderful story and a beautiful drawing. Thank you for sharing:)

Have a wonderful weekend:)

Reader Wil said...

Thank you Shellmo, I agree with you it's a story fit for father's day. I think you have a nice blog about birds!

Reader Wil said...

Hi Pernille have a wonderful weekend yourself and thank you for your visit.

Anonymous said...

This is nice to read and the message is as valuable today as it was hundreds of years ago.

Thanks for the visit. I appreciate seeing you at my blog.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for the visit! Yes the story could be told anytime anywhere, that's well said.