Giving Thanks
By John Davis

In 1620, Elizabeth Hopkins and her husband Darius and his children from a previous marriage set out on an adventure to the new world aboard the Mayflower. Darius Hopkins had been to the Americas before, spending a year at Jamestown. He decided to return to England and bring his family to the New World. Upon returning to England, he discovered that his wife and newborn baby had died, leaving his two older children alone. He and Elizabeth married and a year later set sail for America with dreams of a better life.

The Hopkins was part of the 102 brave souls who made the 66-day crossing to the Americas that fall with dreams of a new beginning. Darius had been a weaver in England and his wife a servant. There was little opportunity for him and his family, so the idea of a better life was incentive enough to make the trip. After all, Darius had been to the New World and knew the stories of uncivilized the natives were untrue. He had found them to be a kind and helpful people.

The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock late in the fall of 1620. At once they began to carve out a life for themselves in the rugged wilderness. The area was not uninhabited, for the native tribe of the Wampanoags lived near Plymouth. Two of the tribesmen Samoset and Squanto spoke English and served as interpreters between the natives and the pilgrims.

That first winter was hard, with half of their number dying from the conditions. The Pilgrims had landed during a difficult time of the year, for winter was setting in and they had little shelter and food. In the spring of 1621, the Wampanoags taught the colonist to plant food and helped them build homes. The Pilgrims had come from a totally different existence in England, so learning to live off the land would not be easy. However, the Wampanoag people were good to them and helped them survive.

As the first anniversary of their landing neared, the survivors decided to hold a festival in honor of their harvest and to offer thanks to God for sparing their lives. The Pilgrims still had little, but they were thankful for what little they had. About 90 of Wampanoag people showed up at the last minute and brought much food with them. They shared wild turkey and deer meat, along with corn, beans and squash. In addition to providing food, the native people also taught them how to cook the things they had brought.

Once the feast was ready, the Pilgrims stopped and read from the Bible and offered thanks to God. The Wampanoag people also offered thanks to the Great Spirit for the bounty they had received. Then, the two peoples sat down together and eat their meal. While language still provided somewhat of a barrier, the common respect between the two peoples was evident. Afterwards, they played games and celebrated what they had accomplished collectively. The word Wampanoag means “people of the first light” because they lived in the East were the sun rose first and it could very well be said their influence was a first light to the Pilgrims as well.

While the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag were quite different in many ways, they also had similarities. Their customs and beliefs were different, but they shared the basic needs of the human race. The race of man has needs that must be supplied and these include food, clothing and shelter. Additionally, men are not solitary individuals, but need the company of friends and family to help sustain them through life.

The Pilgrims lost many that first year, and they could have given up and returned to England. However, instead of dwelling on what they had lost, the instead chose to celebrate what they had. You see, Thanksgiving is not a time of fretting over what is lost but rather a time of taking a measure of what you have. Life has a way of throwing a few curve balls our way and during these times we can find ourselves asking “why me?” But in times of plenty, we seldom stop and ask the same question.

This Thanksgiving is a bittersweet time for us; while we are thankful for what we have, the uncertainties of the future have cast a cloud over this holiday season. Still, we could take a lesson from the Pilgrims and concentrate on the blessings that we received. Each person here is worried about the outcome of the business, and that is completely understandable. However, we can’t focus on that worry alone. We have many blessings that we should count this Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, I would issue this challenge to each person here – including myself – and that is to sometimes between now and Thursday to set down and make a list of all that you have to be thankful for. Sometimes committing our thoughts to paper can make a huge difference, believe me I know as well as anyone here – so take a pen and paper and make a list of everything that you are thankful for this year. When we weight what we have against our fears, we each can find ways to be thankful.

In addition, make certain that you remember how important you are to your family, your friends and to your coworkers. Contrary to what you may read in the papers, YOU make a difference every day. While we have lost significant money over the past three to four years, we have made remarkable progress on this site. For the second year in a row we are looking at double-digit improvements in manufacturing expense for the site. This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of every person here, so remember your worth.

Thanksgiving should be a time of giving thanks and we all need to stop and do that this week. In times of uncertainty, we can find comfort in the scriptures and two that I particularly like are Psalm 35:25 “I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes in Chapter 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let us give thanks this Thanksgiving and hold those things we have to be thankful for near and dear to us.

Peace my Brothers and Sisters,
John Davis