As we approach Thanksgiving I am ever mindful and in prayer for our sisters around the world who are finding themselves newly transplanted or planning a move during the holidays. A move, which is already a challenging time, is often made harder when we want to share these holidays with family and friends.
As a way of encouragement, may I offer a bit of history about another group of movers that influenced the course of a nation?
These 'movers' first relocated to a foreign country to avoid arrest and persecution for worshiping God apart from the national church. They forever left behind family, friends, and familiarity, with the rare letter as their only means of connection with the past.
Eleven years in this foreign land led them to see the necessity for moving on. Ultimately, 102 passengers would live for two months in a 'tween deck' that was about the size of a volleyball court. Three passengers were pregnant and one would give birth during the voyage. Their main diet would have consisted primarily of hard biscuit, salt pork, dried meats including cow tongue, various pickled foods, oatmeal and other cereal grains, and fish. While the first half of the voyage was relatively smooth, the latter half brought many storms and the Mayflower proved to be a very leaky ship. Wet and cold and cramped in their small quarters, some of the passengers began to develop coughs and colds. A young boy named William Butten, a servant to the passenger's doctor Samuel Fuller, died just three days before land was sighted.
These 'movers' landed at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating and, since they were only able to build a couple of primitive buildings, most of them continued to make the Mayflower their home for the duration of the winter. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. More dwelling places were constructed, but sparks from their fires, so necessary for warmth and food preparation, often burned these structures to the ground.
Now, dear moving sisters, let me venture to guess that, while you may have hired the Mayflower Moving Company to move your possessions, you have not endured the disease, deprivation, homelessness, fear, and dangers that our brave ancestors faced. Let me encourage you to be grateful for air transportation, water-tight homes with central heating, well-stocked grocery shelves, and doctors and pharmacists to address our coughs and sniffles. Each time you email, phone or text a loved one, send to God a message of gratitude. As you visit churches, thank God for the freedom to choose your place of worship. I do not want to downplay the difficulties you face as you, too, must approach your future with faith in God, courage, and some grief, but, if you look for them, there are always God’s blessings and provisions that should remind you to be forever thankful. And remember, just as God used the pilgrims to influence a future great nation, so He will use you to influence a neighborhood, a community, a city, or, perhaps, even a nation. |
FIND A 'MOVING ON' GROUP
