I cannot remember the last Thanksgiving I didn’t spend with extended family. from annual travels to Grandma’s house, to everyone converging at my aunt and uncle’s, to an aunt and cousins celebrating at our place—I’ve always celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family.

But this year there will be none of that.

It has been an unusual year, yes. We have experienced a lot of downers and disappointments for sure. Many families have faced truly excruciating circumstances. It may seem superficial to talk about gratitude in a year like this.

But the first Thanksgiving wasn’t perfect, either—for anyone.

Thanksgiving 1621

Sometime in the fall of 1621, the pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together for a celebratory feast.

Almost a year earlier, the Mayflower had landed at Cape Cod, farther north than their preferred destination and much later in the year than they had wanted. The Pilgrims had already endured two months of sea-tossed travel before arriving at their frozen, barren new home. There were no welcome committees. No buildings for protection against the elements. Families would continue to live on the Mayflower for a few more months as preparation was made for moving onto land.

As they feasted at that first Thanksgiving, they were grateful that God had preserved their little community. They had survived. Their Native American friends had played a decisive and somewhat unexpected role in the new colony’s survival.

But as food was shared and thanks were offered, they must have all been thinking about who wasn’t there to celebrate with them.

The Pilgrims had left behind communities, friends, and family members in their search for a new life. Half of the Pilgrims—including their governor and his wife—had died since they left Europe, mostly from disease over the harsh winter.

The Native Americans were also no strangers to loss. Before the Pilgrims’ arrival, Squanto’s entire tribe died of disease while he was enslaved in Europe. Already, violence was beginning to characterize the relationships between Native American tribes and Europeans.

As the Pilgrims celebrated the survival of one year and prepared for another winter, they must have wondered if they would face more disease or violence with other Native American tribes. As they served the corn and pass around the wild turkey, they had no idea what the next few months might bring (sound familiar?).

Thanksgiving 2020

Not all would be rosy for the tiny community, but better times were coming. Four hundred years after the Pilgrims had their first glimpse of the New World, we look back to their journey as instrumental in the founding of America. Their faith and determination points the way for us as we, too, look to an unknown future.

And like the Native Americans and Pilgrims before us, we have so much to be grateful for.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash