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November 26, 2009

Out of a long, hard winter comes ... Thanksgiving



The first Thansgiving in 1621 came after a long, hard winter. The deepest and most heartfelt thanks, it seems, usually spring from such circumstances.

Even before they headed for their new home, the Pilgrims experienced persecution and hardship. We know the story's highlights -- they came to America to worship Christ freely. On their voyage here, many of them got very sick. Once they arrived, things got much worse. A harsh winter was upon them and many perished. In fact, over half of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower did not make it through that first winter. Whole families died. Often there were barely enough healthy men to remove the dead.

This was real hardship.

The winter faded to spring, and with God's hand guiding them along with the miraculous help of an English-speaking Indian friend named Squanto, the Pilgrims learned to survive in their new home.

When harvest arrived the coming year, one could see how perhaps at least some of these earliest Americans would have been bitter, doubting, and perhaps wondering if it had all been worth it. Surely, some must have felt that way. But ... as they had the previous winter, these first New Englanders chose to press onward. They decided to give thanks, in spite of the fact that the challenges the Pilgrims faced make most of ours -- certainly mine included -- seem miniscule.

Actually, the Pilgrims were shaping American and world history, although I am sure they didn't see their role as impacting the character and spirit of a new nation for generations to come. But that's how it goes with those who take the "long view." They quietly toil along in the day-to-day, doing the right thing, and they just stay at it in whatever God has laid before them ... because that's what they know they were created to do. We may not notice it at the time, but these sorts of people end up cutting a wide swath in our lives, and history smiles on them as a result.

But what about us? What history are we making and shaping by our decisions and attitudes today?

Ingratitude is a decision to believe that one is entitled to more than he or she has gotten thus far. Ingratitude leads to one's possessions, life, blessings, and world seemingly shrinking. That is, there becomes even more to be ungrateful about.

Thankfulness is also a choice, a realization of blessings that can be seen by those who are willing to look for them. A thankful heart leads one to see even more to be thankful for. Funny, but it's almost as if we were wired that way.

I have a lot to be thankful for. How about you?

I have told our kids that each day they wake up they have at least three things to be thankful for:

1) Your eyes opened -- If you are alive for another day, it means there is still purpose for going on. There are things to do, people to meet and minister to, and adventures that lie ahead. So, get to it and be thankful that you've got another day;

2) You are an American -- As such, you have more freedom, opportunity and wide-open skies than most all of the population of the world that has ever lived. You've hit history's lottery. And yes, this is true even today. So, live like it. Be thankful. Go find your God-given purpose; and

3) As a Christian, you have have access to God's grace and resources -- Thus, we can live freely, with energy, and with a higher purpose. We live knowing that each day counts not just here, but in eternity. Our smallest, seemingly insignificant tasks take on meaning with this perspective. Check out I Corinthians 10:31. Knowing this truth, we are free to really make a difference in our families and spheres of influence.

Grateful people make a lasting impact.

And by the way ... thanks for reading. And thanks to Nick for giving this "homeless" blogger a little sliver of internets pie in which to write.

Thanks to God for making every good thing in my life possible.

Happy Thanksgiving, every one.

Photo courtesy of magickcanoe.com

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving Goomba team .... I don't always agree with what you say ..... but it's always an interesting read.

I am thankful for family, great friends, shelter, warmth and food, good health, and freedom.

Rhod said...

They sailed into what is today called Cape Cod Bay in December. Winter here is brutal.

At today's First Encounter Beach on the Cape, they met and had a skirmish with the Indians, and then sent a small boat (which nearly broke up in winter storms) across the bay to locate a suitable landing place on the mainland. They found one at today's Plymouth.

A year of grinding hardship later the stories tell of the first Thanksgiving. It was an improbable success.

We need to remember and honor all of them - including the benighted tribes - for what they were and what they did on this day. Pressed together by history and their own good intentions, they fell to their separate fates and the imperfections of man.

This is not a happy story but it's an important one to remember and pass on. God was there, and this is why we commemorate it. What came later was not His doing.

Hoping the Blind Will See said...

Very nice post DC. Rhod, i spent a lot of time in Falmouth in my youth. I'm a recovering Massachutonian living in the sunny south now! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! God bless you and your families, and God Bless our Republic!

Mike said...

NG, Rhod, DC, Opie and LL - Happy Thanksgiving! I´m thankful you guys are here every day making a difference and I´m glad our paths have crossed.

Rhod said...

HBWS:

I returned to CT after 20 years in the Sunny South. I left there back in '71. Don't know which is better, but nasty New England never leaves your blood. It's like a virus.

A peaceful Thanksgiving wish to you and to you, too, Mike. It's a hilly and rocky path, isn't it?

USA_Admiral said...

Happy Thanksgiving you guys. I enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the Top Notch investigative work!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, C-Lady for your graciousness and continuing to read. Admiral, Mike, HBWS, thank you all. My best to you and your families today.

Rhod, great comment. It's good to see where we've been. It puts today in perspective and provides hope for tomorrow. I will raise a fried turkey leg to you and your family today.

The Conservative Lady said...

Happy Thanksgiving to the entire Goomba Team.

INCOMING!!!!!!! said...

Happy Thanksgiving chums.

Candle said...

Agreed, we have much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Opus #6 said...

I am thankful for my lovely (and handsome) internet friends. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Conservative Lady, Incoming, Candle ... back at you. And Opie, I am thankful that the wide reach of the Goomba Network helped me get to know you. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and super holiday season.

Kid said...

I hope you all had a good one.

I can't figure out why they didn't get back in their boats and head south, Follow the sun. At least after the 1st winter. But no, all 13 colonies in the heart of brutal winter-land.

I'm suddenly wondering about my own heritage/ancestry and some seriously intellectually challenged folks.

T. F. Stern said...

You did a nice job of hitting the most important points, thank you and everyone at the Goomba News Network.

Anonymous said...

Life can be challenging, but the visits to this blog by such witty and insightful individuals inspire me and make me truly thankful for this, yet another of God's blessings.