Camping in the cold
The Bible urges us to offer thanksgiving to God at all times, and that includes times when we are cold, hungry or afraid.
We all have learned about the “First Thanksgiving” when, in 1621, the Native Americans and the Pilgrims came together to celebrate the harvest. But this was not really the “first” time the Pilgrims had worshipped God with thanksgiving.
William Bradford, the first governor of the Pilgrims, wrote a book called History of the Plymouth Plantation, and in this book he explains the trials the Pilgrims went through. It seems that everything worked against them, and one of the problems was that they couldn’t travel when they wanted to go. They should have landed in the New World in the spring, so they could have planted crops and enjoyed good weather, but they were delayed. They also wanted to go south, to Virginia, where the winter wouldn’t be very bad, but their ship got off course. The Mayflower landed in Massachusetts, not in Virginia, and it was late November, just as the really cold weather set in.
The Pilgrims stayed on the Mayflower for a little while, using it as a base of operations, since they didn’t have any shelter on shore. Before they all got off the ship, they sent several scouting parties to see what the New World was like, and one of these scouting parties which left the ship on December 6th, was first attacked by Indians, then got caught in a blizzard.
If you have never been outdoors in a blizzard, consider yourself fortunate. A blizzard is a weather event in which there is high wind and a lot of snow falls in a short time. Not only is it really cold, but you can’t see anything because snow is blowing all around. It’s also hard to go anywhere because the wind pushes you back. A blizzard is frightening.
The Pilgrim scouting party broke their small boat’s mast and rudder in the storm before they were able to land on a small island. It was night, a dark night, and they didn’t know where they were. The found shelter from the wind on the island. It wasn’t much shelter, but it was better than being out in the direct wind. There was discussion as to whether they should stay on the small boat or go ashore, but as it got colder, they realized they needed to build a fire, so they went ashore and huddled down in the freezing weather.
The next morning, which
happened to be Saturday, someone read from the Bible, maybe from Psalm 92, and
there, in the cold and snow, they sang songs and gave thanks to God for a safety
and the promise of a new home. They
also made preparations to hold a worship service on the next day, Sunday.
If you are camping in the cold, you may not feel comfortable, but you can
still thank God.
--meditation by Richard E. Davies (copyright ©2007).
Source: BRADFORD'S
HISTORY “OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION,” Book 1, Chapter 10. Here is how Bradford described the night of the blizzard.
Richard E. Davies has interpreted Bradford’s writing into modern
English:
“After some hours of sailing, it began to snow and rain, and bout the middle of the afternoon, the wind increased, and the sea became very rough, and the broke their rudder, and it was as much as two men could do to steer her with a couple of oars. But their pilot bade them to be of good cheer, for he saw the harbor; but the storm was increasing, and night was drawing on, so they adjusted their sail while they could still see. But their mast broke into three pieces, and their sail fell overboard in a very full sea, so they may as well have been castaways; yet by God’s mercy thy recovered, and since the tide was with them, they were able to go into the harbor. But the pilot made a mistake about the exact place to make shore, and they asked for God’s mercy, since they had never seen such a place before. They almost ran aground in the wind.
“But a strong seaman was steering the boat, and he urged those who rowed to turn the boat so that they would not wreck, and they were able to do this. Then the seaman urged them to remain confident, because he was sure they could find a good place to land the boat safely. Even though it was very dark, and was raining hard, in the end they came under the lee of a small island and remained there safely all night. They didn’t know it was an island until morning, and they were confused about what to do. Some wanted to stay in the boat in order to be safe from the Indians. Others were too weak, and needed to go ashore so they could start a fire and get warm. (Everything was thoroughly soaked.) Finally all were glad to come ashore, because overnight the wind started blowing from the northwest and there was a hard freeze.
“Even though the day and night away from the Mayflower had been difficult and dangerous, God gave them a morning of refreshing comfort (as God usually does to his children), because the next day was fair with the sun shining. They found that the island was secure from the Indians, and they could dry their stuff, fix their muskets, and rest themselves. They gave God thanks for his mercies, and for their deliverance. And since this was the last day of the week, they prepared to keep the Sabbath.”