During this Thanksgiving week many children will be watching the mile markers fly by on the interstate, knowing each passing sign represents one mile closer to turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and countless desserts. Exactly four hundred years ago during this same season of the year, there was another group of young children who were on their own journey. Rather than riding in a comfortable automobile for a couple of hours with iPad in hand, they were shut up in a damp, dimly lit, crowded room with hardly any privacy underneath the deck of the Mayflower, which was being tossed to and fro on the ocean waves for nine long weeks.
These children, as well as their parents, demonstrated supernatural patience and deference in these difficult circumstances. Much of the time was spent either listening to Priscilla Mullins tell stories or playing games with Mary Chilton. While there were no signposts on the water that marked their daily progress, there were two important events that reminded them of why they were making the trip: to give a better life to the next generation of believers. These two intergenerational mile markers were the births of Oceanus Hopkins and Peregrine.
The little boat ultimately ran into raging storms that sought to sink not only the ship itself but also the genesis of a new nation that sat within the womb under her deck. It seemed like all the agents of hell were conspiring together to land one crushing blow. But for every threat, there was an answer. When a main support beam cracked, God had already fortuitously ordained that a jackscrew had been placed on board, allowing the men to manage a temporary fix to the present danger. Almost immediately after setting the fracture, the storm ceased, seemingly as an ultimate acknowledgment to the Sovereign will of the Master of the Winds.
Several months later during the long winter months, the Pilgrims faced another battle in the form of a decimating sickness that wiped out half of their host. In the midst of that setback, God once again sent two more mile markers as a reminder of His promises to His people: Samoset and Squanto. Between helping the Pilgrims establish cordial relationships with the various surrounding tribes and helping them learn how to hunt and grow food, these two men were agents of God’s sustaining grace to make it through the subsequent winter.
While the Pilgrims’ story inspires us on many levels, perhaps none is greater than the stark reminder that God gives us sustaining grace and signposts during storms in our own lives. Just as God had His eye on that tiny dot of a boat in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean and fifty people clinging for life during the ravages of winter, He also has all the hairs on our heads numbered. His word reminds us that He spies every single raven that falls, and we are much more important than they (Luke 12).
May this Thanksgiving season find us looking to Him for grace every day of our lives. May we cling to Him for our very existence just like the little band of believers during that first winter. May we similarly demonstrate deep appreciation for the signposts of His love, from His daily provision, to His direction in times of confusion, to His restoration after a season of loss, to deep and satisfying relationships with one another through Him. As we feast on a variety of physical food this week, may we find our greatest satisfaction in the Bread of Life for not only meeting our physical needs but also our greatest need, the need of salvation.
-300x147.jpg)
