They set apart a solemn day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, in this great distress. And he was pleased to give them a gracious and speedy answer, both to their own, and the Indians admiration, that lived amongst them. For all the morning, and greatest part of the day, it was clear weather and very hot, and not a cloud or any sign of rain to be seen, yet toward evening it began to overcast and shortly after to rain, with such sweet and gentle showers, as gave them cause of rejoicing, and blessing God. It came, without either wind, or thunder, or any violence, and by degrees in that it lasted all that night in such abundance, as that the earth was thoroughly wet and soaked therewith. Which did so apparently revive and quicken the decayed corn and other fruits, as was wonderful to see, and made the Indians astonished to behold; and afterwards the Lord sent them such seasonable showers, with interchange of fair warm weather, as, through his blessing, caused a fruitful and liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing. For which mercy, in time convenient, they also set apart a day of thanksgiving.

While strolling the mall just a few days before Reformation Day, I noticed that the theme-oriented temporary stores, glittering foil ice sickles, Santa’s centrally located seat, holiday food vendors, and the colors red and green were already making their annual appearance. Now keep in mind for those unfamiliar with the day of year that the Reformation began is the same as Halloween. My memory may be off, but it seems to me that not so long ago the annual marketing event known as “Christmas,” or more generically, “The Holidays,” did not begin touting its wares until the Friday after Thanksgiving. After all, it was probably not too long ago that many of those gifts that were so desperately needed last year were tossed on the pile in the garage made up of necessary gifts from years before. Thanksgiving is the forgotten, or maybe suppressed, event between the night for goblins and the day for gifts. To be thankful one has to admit the need of someone else, whether it is asking for a ride to work or a reference for a job application. The trouble is, every person needs God because he brings the rain to fall, he provides the air that is breathed, and a beautiful creation, but it seems he is the one forgotten, or ignored, even though “every good and every perfect gift comes from above” (James 1:17). The selection transcribed in this article is an excerpt from William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, which is his account of the settlement of Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1647.

William was born to William and Alice Hanson Bradford in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, early in 1590. He had two sisters, his father was a farmer, and his mother was the daughter of a local shopkeeper. His father died when William was an infant. By the age of twelve he was a voracious reader of his Geneva Bible which he often quoted in Of Plymouth Plantation. Influenced by William Brewster of the nearby village of Scrooby, he adopted congregational church government and separated from the Church of England. Due to persecution in his homeland he moved with other dissenters to Amsterdam, briefly, and then Leyden in the Netherlands. He taught himself Dutch and some Hebrew and Latin. When he was twenty-one years old in 1611, he received his inheritance and went into business as a weaver. His pastor in Leyden was John Robinson. Weaver Bradford impressed the leaders of his church with his abilities sufficiently that he and his wife Dorothy May were included among the pilgrims headed to the New World. Having arrived in the depths of winter after the long sea voyage, the conditions were tough. While he was away with an exploration party surveying the area by boat, a trip that included the landing of December 11, 1620 at Plymouth, Dorothy drowned in the ocean as she awaited his return. It is believed, though Bradford does not say this specifically, that she committed suicide because the desolation and extreme conditions of her new home were too much for her. In May 1621, Gov. John Carver died, then William Bradford at the age of thirty one was unanimously elected the second leader of Plymouth Colony, a position he held almost continually until his death May 9, 1657. At the time he died he had a library of about 400 books, which was quite a collection for one to have in the era.

The occasion for the following account by Governor Bradford is after the arrival of a ship loaded with supplies and some new residents for the fledgling colony from his homeland. Food was already in short supply and the arrival of more mouths to feed was not well received by many already struggling to keep alive. At the end of the text, it is mentioned that loaded onto the ship for its return voyage were pelts and “clapboards,” which were sold by the Plymouth residents in their homeland to obtain funds for purchasing necessities. Also, notice how they managed to keep their corn alive in a drought and their attitude about eating lobsters. At the time lobsters were considered food for the poor and not the pricey delicacy they are currently (shows what marketing can do). I have modernized the spelling, but the structure of the composition has not been changed. Asterisks refer to notes at the end of the piece.

Read More