Lessons to learn from history
To lead up to the first Thanksgiving, we have to go back to why the Pilgrims came to America in the first place. The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower had earlier fled their home in England to seek asylum from religious persecution. The Pilgrims negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America and surged on to get to America.
Courage and Fortitude
Looking back to Dec. 26, 1620, when the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, we find the Pilgrims lacked provisions and shelter for winter. Many perished from the severity of the winter and died of infection or famine. But the remaining ones pressed on; learned a new way of life and remained thankful.
Can we teach our children to have the courage to continue on in spite of hurts and setbacks through our examples of pressing on even though times are tough or hard?
Endurance, Determination
In the summer of 1621, the Wampanoag Indians taught the Pilgrims to plant corn; the wheat the Pilgrims brought would not grow in the rocky soil.
The Pilgrims learned to hunt and fish, too. But when they gathered that fall for the first Thanksgiving, they knew their trials were not over.
Can we encourage our children to care for others as the Indians did for the Pilgrims; do what is right despite what others say or do and to keep on keeping on; being determined not to give up?
Thankfulness
The Pilgrims had cultivated a thankful heart long before they arrived on America’s shores. Because they maintained the spirit of gratitude toward God before the first Thanksgiving celebration came to be.
They proclaimed this message to fellow settlers, found in Deuteronomy 30:20: “For He [the Lord] is our life and our prosperity.” It was shared that a thankful heart sees each day through the lens of God’s providential care.
Can we demonstrate through our lives our thankfulness to God for His provisions and for His saving grace.
Care for Others
Like the Indians that taught the Pilgrims how to plant and grow a harvest in America, let us learn to reach out to others that are lonely with a needed word of encouragement, or provision for those that are less fortunate.
Someone in your family might just need a kind word to lift them up; someone may need to hear a prayer of thanksgiving to encourage them to be thankful, in spite of what life circumstances have brought.
Will our children see caring for others demonstrated to them through our lives so they see and learn what it really means to care for others?
Can We Learn?
What can we learn from these people who came before us? Can we, like them, remain thankful in a modern-day world when discouragement, calamity and heartache invade our lives?
Courage and fortitude, endurance and determination, thankfulness to our Creator – what better lessons can we learn about how to conduct our lives and to pass on to our children?
So as we approach Thanksgiving Day, we may ask ourselves, “What does the modern-today world think of when the Thanksgiving celebration comes around? Do we think only of feeding ourselves, buying the best TVs to watch football or finding the best bargains? Or do we think about others who are hungry, do we think of spending time really talking with and caring for our family members? Do we take time to thank God for His provisions and be in awe of Him? Can we take the wisdom gained from our founding fathers and put them into practice and pass them onto our children? Can we show in our actions that people are more important than football games and that being thankful to God is a way of life?
Like the Indians that taught the Pilgrims how to plant and grow a harvest in America, let us show our thankfulness and learn to reach out to others – in our families and to those less fortunate.
– Dianne Glasgow
