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
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