Yours in Christ,
Wade
James 1:2-4 (NKJV)
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
The Pilgrims endured a long and dangerous trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Before setting foot on American soil, they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact. They had fled persecution in England but they also made in clear they had come to America to further the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the winter of 1621 one half of the pilgrims died due to hardships, starvation and disease. After Squanto’s teaching on how to plant and grow they experienced an abundant harvest and they celebrated the first Thanksgiving in the New World. It would have been a time of joy mixed with grief. They rejoiced in God’s provision but grieved the loss of their dear family members.