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 there,
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)
'In God We Trust'
