Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Chinese Translation, 78K
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Life of Jacob
Turkeys and cornucopias and pilgrim hats. Seasoned stuffing hot
from the oven. Creamed onions, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
Uncles and aunts and cousins to play with. Grandmothers and grandfathers
with family gathered round. Children waiting for the Great Pumpkin
rise over Charlie Brown's pumpkin patch and dads watching college
football. A day to relax and maybe rake leaves in the afternoon.
But Thanksgiving? How much will our celebrations tomorrow have
to do with giving thanks?
A glance at the first Thanksgiving brings it all back. On December
21, 1620 the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth rock. Through the dead
of winter the colony struggled with poor and meager food, strenuous
labor, a biting wind that chilled to the bone, and the ravages
of disease. Nearly half the 102 Mayflower passengers did not live
to see Spring refresh Cape Cod Bay.
But God sent Indians--Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit--to help
the English settlers plant and hunt and fish. The bountiful harvest
that autumn led Governor Bradford to invite the Indians to celebrate
God's goodness. Ninety tall braves accepted the invitation to
join the Pilgrims in a feast of Thanksgiving to God for His blessings.
The Pilgrims lived close enough to the soil to know how dependent
they were on God's Providence. They had learned to thank God in
the midst of the bitterness of winter past. And they were quick
to thank Him during abundant blessing, too.
We teach our children to say "please" and "thank
you" as the rudiments of courtesy, yet it is so easy to be
rude and unthinking toward God. How often we forget to gratefully
acknowledge His goodness towards us.
This Thanksgiving let your prayers and expressions of love rise
toward your Heavenly Father.
"What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward
me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of
the Lord." (Psalm 116:12-13)
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Christmas Incarnation
