Remembering the first Thanksgiving.
 
 

This year I decided to do something different for my article on Thanksgiving. I started thinking about the first group of pilgrims who came to America for spiritual and religious reasons. Their story is about the founding of our great country. Like myself, some people may not have heard the full story. I vaguely remember the name Squanto.  This is a true story of a man by the name of Squanto. Squanto to Thanksgiving is as important as Santa is to Christmas. He was the very important Native American who made all the difference for those arriving pilgrims. First, I want to tell you about the pilgrims who came over to this great land. There were 102 brave people who came over to America. They were fleeing religious oppression.

 Let's think for a moment of what these people had to give up. Can you imagine leaving your home because of religious oppression? Keep in mind that you are giving up your whole family and all your friends. They are NOT coming with you. You will probably never see them again. But you are so devout to God, and you are so strong in the way you wish to worship God, that you are willing to stand up and give up everything you have ever known.

As a minister, I’ve known many people who have done this right here in this country. They’ve had to leave friends and family because they left their religion to come to a church that touched their hearts. Sometimes they were disowned or disrespected. It takes great courage inside of a person to do this -  a courage that goes the extra spiritual mile. They are willing to experience a loss for what they believe in. There were only 102 people boarding a ship to cross a vast ocean to come to a new world they knew nothing about. They boarded a wooden vessel that had no luxuries. It was the Mayflower. They were at sea for 120 days. They were running out of food and water. They met incredible turbulence on the sea. Finally, they arrive in what is now called Plymouth. The year was 1620. They arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts at the very worst time--December 11th. The snows can be very bad in Plymouth in December. When they arrived, they didn’t realize it, but they were to face the most severe winter that the Native American could ever remember. They docked the ship, put down the anchor, and came to this strange land in rowboats. They stood upon the beach. The cold winds hit them in the face. But they did not flinch in their resolve

In the months that followed, almost one half of the Pilgrims died. All of them would have died if it hadn’t been for Squanto. we might say that Squanto was really one of the fathers of our country. In his old age, he gave his all, even when he didn’t have much to give. By the time the snows had melted, followed by a hot summer, and by the time the harvest came around, there were only 56 Pilgrims left. But thanks to Squanto they had wonderful crops. For the first Thanksgiving dinner, they invited 91 Native Americans. Of all the Pilgrims, there were only four women left. These four women and two teenage girls prepared the meal. We often think this is the first Thanksgiving Day celebration where the Pilgrims were able to give thanks for the crops and the blessings that came, but it really wasn’t. They were well acquainted with Thanksgiving Day celebrations. The Greeks honored the goddess of agriculture in a Thanksgiving celebration. The Romans honored the goddess of corn. The Hebrews gave thanks for abundant harvest with the eight-day feast of the tabernacles. So, they were very familiar with a Thanksgiving Day or week celebration.

We all meet adversity and sorrow in our lives. There have been times when various parts of our lives have died and gone away- perhaps a loved one, perhaps a career, perhaps someone we valued greatly. But, it is the choice we make as people on a spiritual path  to adopt the same attitude as these Pilgrims. Like the Pilgrims, we are still explorers. What are we exploring? We’re exploring the New World of “our life” that is beginning each new day. We could lie down in the adversity; we could be unappreciative for anything because things have been so tough - but we don't. We stand up and use the power of appreciation and give thanks to God for all the blessings that have come our way. No matter how tough life has been, the blessings of God always overwhelm the negative.

During the first two critical years of the infancy of this colony, Squanto helped the Pilgrims by staying by their side. He helped them build houses, plant, cultivate crops, and learn how to use the land. He helped them build seven private homes and two communal buildings, and miracle of miracles, Squanto was an English-speaking Pawtuxet Native American. How did he learn to speak English? As a boy he was playing along the shore, and some early explorers captured him. They put him in the hull of their ship and took him to a land where he would work as a slave for the rest of his boyhood and well into his young manhood. One day, he was able to escape. He went to England and worked for a wealthy merchant. During this time, he mastered the English language. But his dream was to go back home and be with his people. Finally, six months before the Pilgrims arrived, Squanto returned to his people.

For a moment, think about all the toil and adversity Squanto must have experienced in his life, and realize how God used every bit of it.  Squanto was already there when these new people came. He could speak English. He knew the ways of these people. He knew how to communicate with both the Pilgrims and the Indians. In doing this, he kept the Indians from killing the Pilgrims and from stealing their food. He was able to get these two very different cultures to work together. Here was this elderly man who came back at a very harsh time. That winter was also very bad for his family. They lost hundreds of people during the cold weather of that winter. But he was there. And during the last two years of his life, he was able to help this infant colony to make sure it would survive. He is really an unsung hero who gave of his life in service to others. He used his adversity to the betterment of humankind. On that first Thanksgiving after the tremendous hardships and loss of lives, the pilgrims and Native Americans gave thanks for the harvest by honoring and thanking God.
 
To me, it looks as though God had a divine plan to save the pilgrims and begin the great experiment of democracy in America. One of the things that I give thanks for is that God can turn every adversity into an opportunity. But, we might ask, what do we have to give thanks for in this country and in the world at Thanksgiving this year? We’ve experienced tremendous adversities with the challenges of COVID-19 where so many lives were lost, wildfires, global warming, runaway inflation, floods, violent weather patterns and much more at a personal level entering.

We’re entering a New World as the Pilgrims entered their new world, because the world is continually changing. It is a joy to be alive at this time, IF we make it so. It is wonderful to know that God is working in our lives. It is so wonderful to use the power of appreciation and thankfulness for everything that is going on in our lives. Appreciation has two different meanings. First, it is praise and blessings. And second, it is like a bank account, which means it is growing with interest. Truly, there is no finer way to make us grow than to have an attitude of appreciation for everything in our lives. This is true especially for those people in our lives who have helped us grow  -  they are the Squanto(s) in our lives.

In the book, "You," Frances Wilshire says this about using the power of appreciation on other people. She says: “When you praise anyone, that one at once begins to unfold, as a rose unfolds and expands, because you are recognizing his or her Real Self.” Then she talks about using the power of appreciation on yourself. Bless yourself. Bless your body. Bless your abilities. Bless God’s working through you, and inside of you. Too many people in the world go through their lives cursing themselves, cursing their bodies, cursing their abilities, and wondering where God is.

What do you get if you use the power of appreciation every day of your life? What do you get if you open up your mind and begin to appreciate everything? You are going to have a switch in the attitude of your mind that gives you enjoyment. Imagine if Squanto had said, “How dare they do this to me? I’ve had my youth taken away and my life was so bad. I am truly miserable.” He would have come home an old, defeated man. But he didn’t. This old man had stature from overcoming adversity. He had the power of appreciation, of seeing the blessings when they came. He had the power of being a positive attitude person. He didn’t resent the people who came over six months after he returned home. He welcomed them as friends and appreciated them. He used all the toil of his life for the betterment of humankind.

In Ecclesiastes 5:19 it we read: “Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil - this is the gift of God.”

We are so surrounded by the gifts of God. I pray that you have this new power of appreciation in you for everything in your life, every person in your life, for yourself, and for God.

"Enter into God's gates with thanksgiving, and into God's courts with praise: be thankful unto God and bless God's name. For the LORD is good; God's mercy is everlasting; and God's truth endures to all generations." Psalm 107:1

Spend this Thanksgiving Day jotting down a list of things that you are thankful for, and then give thanks to God for each and every one.

Let Us Pray,
Dear God, it has been a tough year. Many have lost jobs and homes and yet in this moment I thank You for the blessings of life, knowing in my faith that the best is yet to come. Now, I ask that You bless me by helping me learn the positive lessons from my adversity so that I may use them for the betterment of my life and others. Holy Creator, I ask you to turn my every adversity into opportunity. I give thanks God for my life and the cornucopia of opportunity that lie ahead.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rev Rose