Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian Youth’s Rite of Passage?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him an 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.
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.”
I was told this story when I crossed over from Cub scouts to boy scouts. I was in Tubbs hill, right in the back of it behind the trail, i was blindfolded and was sat down on a statue. One of the scoutmasters, we called “jake the storyteller” told me this story. When the story was done i was told to remove my blindfold. Like the story, my father was sitting beside me, and jake was making noises of branches cracking and animals moving around me, once i removed my blindfold i moved along the trail, and at the end i crossed the scouting bridge and earned my arrow of light. One of my favorite scouting stories.
One of my favorite tales. When I was a Scoutmaster of my local Boy Scout Troop I used to tell this story to my youngest Scouts on their very first campout just before they went to bed. It seems to have had quite an impact as they Remember it still. One young Man at his first summer camp had chosen Wilderness Survival Merit Badge. One of the requirements was to build a shelter in the woods and spend the next night in it alone. He was scared to go and asked if I was gonna make him go. I told him no but assured him that all would be fine but that if he did not do it he would not earn the badge. I then asked him if he remembered the story I told him on his first campout. He replied “The one about the Cherokee Boy”? I said “yes, and tonight YOU are that boy”. He thought for a moment and decided to go. He returned to camp the next morning and said “I did it”.
Pastor Tim, you are one of the most wise men I have ever had not only the privilege to read, but to meet and be in the presence of. Your integrity, steadfast faith and genuine love is incredible. If you don’t hear it enough, thank you.
Thank you so very much for the overwhelmingly kind words! You’ve made my week! God bless you and Happy Easter!