The “First Thanksgiving” was in November 1621, when the Pilgrims and the Indians gathered at Plymouth for an autumn harvest celebration.
It began as a day of Giving Thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the Harvest and of the preceding year.
53 Colonists are believed to have attended, including 22 men, four married women, and more than 25 children and teenagers.
These were the lucky ones who had made it through a harsh winter during which an epidemic of disease swept through the colony, killing nearly half the original group.
Almost 80% percent of the women who had arrived on the Mayflower died during the first winter.
President John F. Kennedy’ said this: “Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together, and for the faith which united them with their God.
These participants of the First Thanksgiving had every opportunity to Complain about their horrible situation.
They chose instead to Be Thankful and to Give Thanks!
We have a choice to Be Thankful or Complain. Choose wisely!
Being Thankful changes the heart, and when the heart changes, your eyes are opened to see all the Goodness and Opportunities you have been given.
Complaining also changes the heart and blinds the eyes. A complainer will only see the negative in life, which will continue to harden the heart until you practice a life of Thankfulness.
Complaining will lead you into a life of complacency and eventually becoming a victim getting by with little to no hope.
Thankfulness will lead you into a life of Active Involvement (DOING) and eventually becoming a Victor.
Philippians 2:14-16a, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the Word of life.”
The opposite of Complaining is Thankful DOING.
Complaining is Passive, Weak, Quitting, Selfish, and Self Serving.
Thankfulness is Proactive, Involved, Serving, Volunteering, and Helping.
We have MUCH to be Thankful for no matter our current circumstances.
It takes just as much effort to Be Thankful as it does to Be a Complainer.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your Family.
Find Your Passion…Find Your Life!