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Pilgrims

The Pilgrims and God’s Providence

November 15, 2016 by BJU Press Writer

The following account of the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving demonstrates how much they had to thank God for. It’s a celebration of God’s preserving grace.

A small group of English Separatist Christians waited to board their ship, the Speedwell. They had lived in Holland for twelve years and were longing to taste freedom. They set out for the New World to spread the gospel, preserve their own language and culture, and bring up their children according to the dictates of their own consciences.

The voyagers loaded food and cargo onto the Speedwell. William Brewster brought along his printing press and almost two hundred books. On July 22, 1620, with a fair wind, the Pilgrims knelt and prayed for God’s blessing. They set sail for England, where they would join the Mayflower.

Both ships sailed for the New World on August 5, 1620. Within three days the Speedwell began taking on water and twice had to turn back. All the Pilgrims had to board the Mayflower.

Finally, the Mayflower set sail a month behind schedule with 102 passengers. With travel provisions already consumed, supplies would last only two months more. But they had sold their houses and could not turn back.

They faced not only shortages but also harassment from some of the sailors. One self-appointed leader jeered at the Christians’ seasickness and boasted that he would soon sew them all into shrouds. Ironically, within hours, he himself died of a strange fever. His was the first shrouded body to go overboard. The mocking ceased.

Halfway across the Atlantic the Mayflower encountered a violent storm that snapped the crossbeam supporting the mainmast. The situation was desperate until someone remembered the great iron screw of Elder Brewster’s printing press. Placing the press beneath the beam, they raised it back to its proper position. It held for the rest of the voyage.

By now their food was almost inedible. The bread was rock hard, the grain bug-infested, and there was no fresh water. But on November 9, the Pilgrims heard the cry, “Land-ho!” Tears of relief mingled with shouts of joy and prayers of thanks.

illustration of pilgrims signing the Mayflower Compact

Captain Christopher Jones informed them that they had reached Cape Cod—far north of where their patent entitled them to settle. But winter was too close to permit any more searching. As they had begun their long voyage by kneeling on the dock at Delftshaven to ask God’s guidance, so they ended it kneeling in gratitude on the sands of Cape Cod.

Providentially, they found land already cleared at Plymouth. It seemed as if unseen friends had prepared this very spot. But the summer growing season was over, and a bitter winter would follow.

By April 1621 the Pilgrims had lost twenty-eight of their original forty-eight male adults and forty-seven people in all. But in God’s mercy, an Indian named Samoset, who had learned to speak English from fishing captains, walked into their camp! He had a remarkable story to tell the Pilgrims.

According to Samoset, that area used to belong to a large hostile tribe that killed every white man who had landed there. But four years before, a mysterious plague had devastated the entire tribe. Convinced that some great spirit was responsible, neighboring tribes had shunned the entire area.

In October of 1621 Governor William Bradford declared a day of public thanksgiving. The Pilgrims furnished turnips, cabbages, carrots, onions, parsnips, cucumbers, radishes, and beets from their gardens for the feast. Ninety Indians joined them with venison and wild turkeys.

Elder Brewster led in prayer to God, whose providence had guided and protected them. “We have noted these things,” said Bradford, “so that you might see their worth and not negligently lose what your fathers have obtained with so much hardship.”

[Adapted from “The Pilgrims and God’s Providence” by David O. Beale, Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from American Church History, edited by Mark Sidwell, pages 8–12.]

What are you praising our gracious God for during this season of thanks?

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: God's providence, Mayflower, Pilgrims, Thanksgiving

The Real Story of Thanksgiving Day

November 26, 2015 by Guest Writer

Native American chief

What do you imagine when you think of the first Thanksgiving? Prim people in black hats with buckles, dressed in crisp outfits with white collars? Instead, imagine tired moms and dads, thrilled to finally have enough food for their hungry children. Picture Wampanoag warriors, hauling in whole deer as their contribution to the meal. The tables weren’t beautifully appointed with chic centerpieces and fine flatware; most of the guests probably sat on the ground or on nearby tree stumps, eating from wooden bowls.

For the Pilgrims, that year had been brutal. Many people they loved had died from accidents, privation, or illness. Their shining dream of a free Promised Land had melted into the grim reality of dark, dense forest and hard, unbroken ground.

The American Indians looked out from the sheltering boughs of that wild forest, and they saw haggard, white-faced men and women, slow and stumbling from weariness and lack of food. The tribes saw that these newcomers had the will to survive. All they lacked was knowledge—and enough supplies to give them a second chance.

And then came the wonder that makes Thanksgiving so special. Although they did not know Him, God moved in the hearts of those Native Americans, planting seeds of mercy. With the Wampanoags’ help the Pilgrims had a bountiful harvest, and Governor William Bradford invited everyone to feast and celebrate.

That first Thanksgiving feast went on for three days. No one forgot the sadness of the past months, but they let joy and gratitude overflow instead. They lived out Psalm 106:1, “Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.”

Thanksgiving Day exists to remind us of all the blessings and gifts of the year, especially the ones that fill your heart so full of gladness so that sorrow has no room—the small arms of a child around your neck, the laugh of someone you cherish, the smile of a friend.

So “let the peace of God rule in your hearts . . . and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15–17).

Image Source

• • • • •

Rebecca is a work-at-home freelance writer, novelist, wife, and the mom of two bright-eyed little ones. She credits her success in writing and her love of books to her own mom, who homeschooled three kids from pre-K through high school.

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: harvest, Pilgrims, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, Wampanoag

A Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving

November 20, 2014 by Eileen

 The First Thanksgiving by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
The First Thanksgiving by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

When you hear the phrase “the first Thanksgiving,” what are some images that come to mind? You have probably seen enough artists’ renderings of this event to have a mental picture of fall trees, a table loaded with traditional Thanksgiving fare, and an assortment of Pilgrims and Wampanoags enjoying a peaceful meal together. A number of historians have exposed the mythical elements in scenes like that. For example, while there might have been turkey at the feast, there would not have been potatoes. The Pilgrims would have lacked sugar for sweetening cranberries and ovens for baking pumpkin pies. The menu may have even included such nontraditional items as mussels, crabs, and eels. Since furniture would have been scarce in Plymouth Colony, even the table itself is a questionable detail.

Historical errors have also crept into the way Pilgrim clothing is depicted. Large buckles on hats and shoes were not affordable for common people, and Pilgrim men probably would not have worn them even if they had been. Written records of the Pilgrims have revealed that they wore bright-colored garments, especially for festive occasions, rather than mournful black.

It’s also possible that the presence of the Indians at the Thanksgiving feast was not entirely comfortable for the Pilgrims. No doubt there were lingering tensions on both sides, despite peaceful relations on the surface.

But perhaps the one thing most of us lack in our mental picture of this feast is an understanding of the Pilgrims’ state of bereavement. The Pilgrims were undergoing a period of deep personal grief. Only about half of their number who had voyaged on the Mayflower had survived the first winter. Nearly every family had experienced a death. Only four of the married women were still living. Most of the Pilgrims at the feast were men or children under the age of sixteen.

The exact character of the 1621 harvest feast is a subject of debate. Some scholars think it was more of a festival than a serious religious holiday. But whatever the mood of the occasion, the fact remains that even in the face of excruciating personal trials, the Pilgrims took a day to celebrate God’s goodness. The Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving teach us that giving thanks is an act of faith. A truly thankful person looks beyond the present difficulties to see God’s gracious hand opened, giving what is best. May we be reminded this Thanksgiving Day that we too are pilgrims on a journey planned and guided by an all-wise God. May we have the faith to lift our eyes above life’s barren fields to thank God for His bountiful blessings—past, present, and future.

What are you thankful for this year?

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: faith, Pilgrims, thankful, Thanksgiving

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