Thanksgiving—eucharisteo: 1. to be grateful, feel thankful 2. to give thanks “Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5).
On Christmas Day, 1620, the first work party left the Mayflower harbored in Plymouth Bay to begin building houses and laying out their settlement in the “New World.” The winter of 1620-21 was dreadful for Governor William Bradford and Plymouth Colony as they watched half of their family and friends die. All through the winter the pilgrims only saw a few indigenous Americans from a distance. But on March 16, 1621 a solitary native named Samoset walked into Plymouthtown and greeted the half-starved colonists in broken English! (Can you imagine?) Samoset returned the next day with another remarkable native-American named Tisquantum (Squanto) who spoke the king’s English fluently. (Well, blimey!) With the particular help of Squanto, the colonists learned how to grow crops, gather fish, hunt game and prepare for the looming winter months ahead of time—allowing for a tremendously bountiful harvest the next autumn.
But it is the story of Squanto that inspires (and comforts) me this November. You see, Squanto’s story before he greeted the English colonists in fluent English is absolutely remarkable. About ten years before the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Bay young Squanto with others from his Wampanoag tribe went out to greet and trade with other English explorers under the leadership of Captain Hunt, with whom they apparently had friendly dealings. But Captain Hunt double-crossed them and kidnapped them to sell in the slave market of Europe. A well-meaning Spanish monk bought Squanto, treated him well, and taught him the Christian faith, as well as a number of European languages. Squanto eventually arrived in England in the care of one, John Slaney, who sympathized and determined to send Squanto back to America. The chance to return to America in 1619 brought Squanto to the devastating news that his entire tribe was wiped out by an epidemic. He was alone in the world.
About a year later Squanto met the pilgrims who had settled the same land his tribe had previously inhabited. He befriended them—knowing full well the risks involved. And the rest is Thanksgiving history. According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto “became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good…. He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities…and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died.”
Have you had a year full of unknowns (like the pilgrims) only to find “God-sent” helpers along the way greeting you in your mother-tongue? Have you had a year full of disappointments and unfairness (like Squanto) when all of a sudden you realize that your hardships actually qualify you to help someone else in need? There is no God-forsaken place!
