I love Thanksgiving, but sadly it seems, one of the most endearing American holidays has been relegated to the back of the holiday line. Christmas commercials are showing up in the middle of Thanksgiving cooking shows, and Santa and the reindeer have trumped the Pilgrims on most retail shelves. Retail stores open on Thanksgiving before Black Friday.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving is this – the Pilgrims set aside this very special day to give thanks to God and to acknowledge how utterly dependent they were upon Him. They sacrificed much to begin a new life in a new and unknown land which would afford them the liberty to freely worship the true and living God. We owe much to these early settlers. America’s Judeo-Christian heritage took root when the Pilgrims and Puritans set foot upon this continent. In the book America’s Providential History, authors Beliles and McDowell say this of the Pilgrims, “God had prepared those of humble beginnings to be a light of liberty to an entire nation.”
Are you willing to be a “light of liberty” to this generation? “The early settlers and founders of our nation had an understanding that what we had as a nation came from God, came from Biblical principles, so the first and foundational freedom in our nation is the right to worship God; the right of conscience,” notes David Barton, founder and president of Wall Builders. God, not government, is the source of all liberties.
“We have forgotten that so many of our rights are God-given, and so, if they are given by the government, then the government is free to regulate them, tax them, or simply take them away,” Barton says.
As we approach Thanksgiving, may we give thanks to God for the courage and fortitude of the families, men, women and children who came to our nation not simply to practice their faith but to create a society built on Scriptural values. During the first winter, half of the Pilgrims died, and during the second winter, half of the remaining settlers also died. Those are sacrifices we cannot afford to take lightly. “Here we are today enjoying the fruits of their labor, a goal they were willing to give their lives for.” – Barton
Let us remember the vision and sacrifice of our nation’s early founders, for it is because of their God-inspired effort – which we celebrate each Thanksgiving – that we have the freedom to freely and publicly worship the true and living Savior.
We at Concerned Woman for America of Maine wish you a wonderful and bountiful Thanksgiving. We are grateful for all of you and what you mean to the life of CWA.
Penny Morrell
State Director
director@maine.cwfa.org
me.cwfa.org