Sumrall Family

Cherokee Legend

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youths' 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.

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."

IT MAKES YOUR LIFES BURDENS SEEM SO EASY

The alarm bell rings at 6:30,I stumble to my feetI grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheetsA groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?It seems like just a second agoI was able to shut my eyesThe morning activities follow- study, prayer and suchWhen it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much"We have a super day planned,"My comp. says with a grinI lowly utter a faithless breath,"Yeah, if anyone lets us in."With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street prepared toFace another day of humidity and heatIt's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost throughMy champion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to doWe ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lotOnly to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "air Box"We go up to our apartment, the day is now completeThe only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feetIt's past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep,Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weepIn the midst of sadness, I kneel down to prayI need to talk to father, but I'm not sure what to say"Oh, Father" I begin, "What happened to us today?I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was awayMy hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;If our area was any smaller, we'd have knocked every street""Why on missions are the days so much alike?The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bikeWill you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing meI sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it's very hard to see""Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuffPlease send us investigators so I may give them what they lackI want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back""And what about my family: They don't have much to sayI'm sick of not hearing from home day after day after dayOh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind""My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?"The way he rides his bicycle, I don't think he can seeNow you have it, I can't go on, I don't know what to doThat, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you"My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bedI need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day aheadSleep start to overtake me, I seem to drift awayThen it seems a vision takes me to another time in another dayI'm standing alone on the hill. The view is very niceA man walks to wards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ"Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet"Arise," He states, "Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak"My attention's towards my Savior, total and completeHe says, "Your mission is similar of what happened to meI understand how you feel, I know what you're going throughIn fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you""I even know how you felt when no one listened to youAt times I felt not quite sure what else I could doI know you don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweetJust remember the donkey I rode wasn't equipped with 21 speeds""I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hateI remember when I sweat blood from ev’ry pore, oh the agony was great!I see you don't like your companion- you'd rather have someone else-I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth""It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of youI remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the JewsSo you feel burdened down by the weight of your packI recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back""Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all dayI guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar wayIt's hard not to hear from home when your family's not there to seeI lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?""We have a lot in common, but there's a difference between us you seeI endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me"He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His loveWith tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father aboveI stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my headI listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bedMy companion let out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"No matter what we go through,when we feel we can't take moreJust stop and think about Jesus Christ,He's been there beforeBy Elder Troy WhittleTexas Houston Mission