Thanksgiving Reflections!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I love the family getting together and the turkey dinner with all the fixings. But Thanksgiving has a special place in my heart because I had a relative who came over on the Mayflower and survived the first winter! I am the eleventh generation from George Soule, one of the Pilgrims. I am a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants and have enrolled all my grandchildren and now the great- grandchildren too. The Mayflower was an amazing voyage for a group of people who were convinced that God wanted them to have a better life and live free.

The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England in September 1620. There were one hundred and two passengers on board and about thirty crew. The voyage took sixty-six days, but they had already been aboard ship for a month and a half before they set sail. They intended to land in Virginia but missed it and landed at Cape Cod in Provincetown harbor on November 11, 1620. Winter was already setting in and they were unprepared. Only fifty-three of the one hundred and two pilgrims survived the first winter.

The Pilgrims were a group of English Separatists seeking religious freedom. They had fled England to escape religious persecution and initially sought refuge in the Netherlands before setting sail for North America. Their religious practices were central to their lives, and their approach to worship was shaped by their desire to establish a society based on their own beliefs.

Before disembarking, the Pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that established a fundamental government, in which each member would contribute to the society and welfare of the settlement.

My relative, George Soule, was an indentured servant to the Edward Winslow family. That is how he got his passage fee paid. He was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. Some of the Winslow family died soon after the ship arrived in America. But George survived and later married and had eight children. I am descended from one of his daughters, Patience Soule.

Travel to America was considered very risky as previous attempts to settle in America had failed. But the pilgrims felt strongly that God wanted them to go. “We very believe and trust the Lord is with us,” they wrote, “and that He will graciously prosper our endeavors according to the simplicity of our hearts therein.”

Prayer was an integral part of daily life for the Pilgrims. They believed that prayer could help them seek guidance, strength, and protection from God. The psalms, in particular, were an important part of their religious practice. They would often sing psalms during their worship.

The Bible was central to Pilgrim life as well, not only in their worship but also in their daily decision-making and governance. They believed in the authority of Scripture and saw it as the guide for both spiritual and social conduct. They also translated the Bible into English, making it accessible to everyone in their community.

I love the fact that they wanted something better for their own lives and their descendants and they were willing to risk it all for what they believed and thought possible. Obviously, there was great hardship and loss. Thankfully, the native people taught them many things about hunting, planting, and harvest that helped them. This is why we see pictures of the first Thanksgiving that include the Indians along with the Pilgrims.

So, as I think about Thanksgiving, I consider my own values in my daily life.
I ask myself, is Bible reading and prayer central to my life?
Do I enjoy singing and worshiping through music?

“Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and THANKSGIVING, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.”  Revelation 7:12

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!