Thought for the Day 6/11/2021

 Friday Tale - Cherokee Tradition 

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 there all alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shines on his face. 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 strange noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might stumble upon him and do him some harm. The wind blew the grass and the earth shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing his blindfold once. He knew it was the only way for him to become a man.

    Finally, after the horrific night ended, the sun appeared in the horizon 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 any 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.

~ Anonymous

The LORD of hosts is with us:
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
~ Psalm 46:7; Romans 8:31