Note: It has been brought to my attention that this story is not actually an authentic Cherokee rite of passage. It was not posted so as to be a factual representation of Cherokee culture, but I found it to be a cute story which gives a good example of fatherhood and of God our Father. I apologize to anyone I may have inadvertantly offended. Of note, I am Cherokee myself, so please do not think that I am disparaging Native Americans by any means.
WikiAnswer published one Cherokee member’s response to this e-mail forward.

This came from a co-worker (gotta love those e-mail forwards!):

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 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, 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 [Not the full verse.]