Daily Truth:   “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

2 Corinthians 9:11

That first Thanksgiving was filled with great joy.  The Pilgrims had suffered adverse conditions on both water and land.  The Native Americans had helped the Pilgrims in numerable ways.  A celebration was in order.  A celebration which lasted three days shows their great thankfulness and the great abundance of food that was produced.

Two books that not only share facts but highlight God’s working in both the Pilgrims and Native Americans lives are:

Thanksgiving:  A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey

Squanto:  And the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxes

Listed are just a few of the miracles from these two books so you can see the hand of God in this celebration we call Thanksgiving.

• Due to repairs needed on the ship, Speedwell, the passenger list was cut in half. “William Bradford commented, ‘And thus like Gideon’s army, this small number is divided, as if the Lord by this work of his providence thought these few were too many for the great work we had to do.”‘
• One of the storms on the the sea raged for days.  “Without warning one of the huge crossbeams supporting the main deck suddenly cracked due to the constant stress of the high winds.  Now the sailors were as worried as the passengers.  But as always the Pilgrims took their concerns and fears to God, asking Him to deliver them and provide a way of escape.  Their spiritual leader, William Brewster, remembered the large iron jack screw the Pilgrims had brought for lifting heavy beams when they would begin their building construction…The sailors used this to crank up the beam to its original position.  The Pilgrims gave God the praise.”
• ” One man, a servant of John Carver named John Howland, became frantic after being cooped up so long during the storm. Though the worst of the storm was over, the main deck was still no place for passengers…He disobeyed the captain’s orders and went up on deck…..Suddenly the ship heeled and John fell overboard…A rope was trailing over the side of the ship, and by God’s amazing grace it was there when John reached out.”
• Many years before the Pilgrims landed in the New World a group of white men landed there.  A young boy named Squanto, a part of the tribe called the Patuxets, lived along the coast of what today is called Massachusetts.  Squanto was taken, along with many of his friends, by these men back to Spain to be sold into slavery.  Squanto watched as his friends were sold and never to be seen again.  “But God had another plan for Squanto.  On the dock that morning stood a group men who were different from the others.  These were called monks, and they served God.  When it was Squanto’s time to be sold, one of the monks held up a small bag of heavy coins” and purchased him.  They were kind and taught him about God.
• “They knew he missed his family so the tried to help him find a way to go back home to America.  Finally, they came upon a good plan.  But first, Squanto would have to travel all the way to England.  That is where trading ships were that sometimes sailed to America….so Squanto traveled to England…the monks had sent him to the home of a London merchant named John Slanie.”
• It was ten years from Squanto’s capture before he finally was able to go home.  By this time he had learned the English language.

Though it took several years for Squanto to get back to America he had learned about God and the English language.  When the Pilgrims arrived in America the Native Americans greeted them.  Since Squanto knew English he helped them in many ways.

God’s providence is seen throughout history.  Not only in history that we read from a book but in the history of each person.

As you celebrate and count your blessings remember those who came before you and those who will come after you.  Each person has struggles, hardships, joys and blessings. When God is sought in every situation God always shows Himself faithful.  Our timing is not God’s timing so waiting is part of the process.  We need to pray and allow God to work and show Himself faithful to us and our families.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Until the next “Truth” sharing moment,

Cathy Jo Johnson