Today's Devotional Thought
November 25, 2010 by Rachel Piferi
Thanksgiving
There is some debate among historians regarding when the first Thanksgiving actually took place in America. Some claim that the first Thanksgiving occurred in 1621 in Plymouth among Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians who were pledging thanks to God for their harvest. Others claim that the first Thanksgiving actually took place in 1619 in Virginia among British settlers who were recorded as kneeling in prayer and pledging “Thanksgiving??? to God for their healthy arrival in the new world after a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
Regardless of the exact historical origins of Thanksgiving, one thing is very clear. Both groups were thanking God for their survival, for the harvest, and for the blessings in their lives. Edward Winslow details the Plymouth Thanksgiving in 1621 in A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth,
“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
What a special sentiment at the end of this passage, “And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.???
In true Thanksgiving spirit, the colonists were thankful to God for their harvest. And, they felt so blessed by God’s provision that they wanted to share it with the Indians at that time. Being so far from want, they generously offered some of their blessings to others.
I am sure that many of us are so far from want this Thanksgiving. In the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, remember to thank God for your harvest today. And, remember to share your blessings with others so that they may also know the goodness of our Lord this season.
December