WONDERFUL DEVOTION

I received this devotion today and it ministered to me so much that I just had to share it!!!

Scripture: Matthew 28:20"I am with you always, even to the end of the age" NKJV

There is a Cherokee Indian legend that defines a child's rite of passage from childhood to being a MAN. It's a Cherokee rite of passage!

A young boy's father takes him into the forest. There he blindfolds him and leaves him sitting alone on a stump. The young boy is required to sit on the stump the entire night. He may 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 --- the legend says he is a MAN. Most important --- he can't tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified as his mind displays all kinds of fear. He can hear noises --- perhaps wild beasts are all about --- maybe even another human out to do him harm. The wind blows the grass, shakes the trees and his stump grows unfriendly and cold. But the boy must sit stoically, never removing the blindfold. He knows it was the only way for him to become a MAN. Minutes drag on --- they turned into hours as the sounds of the forest got louder and louder. Then a silence starts --- the horrific night --- is coming to an end and he can feel the warmth of the sun. Then the sun begins to seep through his blindfold and he knows it is time. He then removes his blindfold and discovers his father sitting on the stump next to him. His father had been on watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. What a wonderful analogy for us to understand that we are never alone. Even when our worst fears are over coming us --- even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us. And Jesus is "sitting on the stump" beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out --- It's a rite of passage.