Pilgrim Gratitude
Years ago, we had the good fortune to take our kids to tour The Mayflower in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Sitting in the hold of the ship, only one-hundred-feet long and twenty-four wide, I realized how small a vessel it was. The ceilings are so low, if you stand, you hit your head.
The Speedwell was to have made the journey, but it leaked. Both ships turned back. Now one-hundred-and-two pilgrims got crammed into the windowless, stuffy gun deck of the Mayflower. Some had been living aboard for six weeks before they set sail for the New World.
Can you imagine the stench? I wouldn't even stomach my hard tack.
A Governor William Bradford re-enactor told the story. That deck carried an essential ship-to-shore sloop, so the living area had been cut to fifty-eight by twenty-four feet. Treated as cargo by the thirty-seven crewmen, and rarely allowed on deck for fresh air, the Pilgrims battled a series of rough storms, damage to the ship, all manner of illness, severe cold temperatures, bad food (hard tack, dried meat, and beer), and being swept overboard.
That one young man survived, and a sailor hauled him back aboard. At last, the ship landed near Provincetown on Cape Cod, instead of the Hudson River, their original destination. (Would Wall Street have ever looked the same?)
Miraculously, only one person passed away on the voyage.
Governor Bradford recorded what they did first. “Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof."
The Pilgrims blessed God and thanked Him. They didn't run to look for fresh water or new food. They stopped, kneeled, bowed their heads, and prayed.
In the brutal winter and following year, half of them would die, including the baby born during the trip. The first child born in Plymouth Colony however, lived more than eighty years.
When we sit down to a bountiful dinner in our nice warm homes this holiday, think about the faith and courage it took for a meager band of ordinary Christians to cross the Atlantic Ocean for religious freedom.
Then bow your head, bless God, and thank Him that you live in the United States of America.
"I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips." -- Psalm 34:1
Questions for Reflection:
1. For what are you thankful for this holiday season?
2. Have you ever considered that blessings can come from bad situations that test your faith? Take a moment to thank God for these times that can seem painful in the moment but deliver us to a stronger faith.