This Thursday, our nation will stop and celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a unique holiday that began in the United States and one that is often missed with everyone rushing to the Christmas holiday season. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists from England and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

That 1621 feast was special indeed as the Christians had just faced one of the cruelest years of their lives in this new land. In 1620, the voyage of the Mayflower occurred. It consisted of a 65-day-long ordeal in which 102 men, women and children crossed the stormy Atlantic in a space the size of a city bus. The voyage itself was brutal, but what followed rivaled in devastation.

The horrible New England winter, of which the colonists were ill-prepared, resulted in starvation as their numbers dwindled rapidly. By the onset of spring, half of them had died. Fourteen of the eighteen wives had perished and the widowers and orphans abounded. The Pilgrims who celebrated in this setting served as a testimony to human resilience and heavenly hope.

Yet celebrate they did. Sometime in the autumn of 1621, after God had granted them a bountiful harvest, the feast of thanksgiving was observed and it lasted for three days. It’s an inspiring story and it’s good for Christians this Thanksgiving to remember.

Settler Edward Winslow described their thankful hearts like this: “And although it is not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

Winslow wrote at length about the occasion that the Pilgrims would have remembered as their first Thanksgiving Day in America. It occurred in the summer of 1623, nearly two years after the event that we commemorate. During that summer, a two-month-long drought threatened to wipe out the Pilgrims’ crops, and the prospect of starvation in the coming winter loomed over them.

Governor Bradford “set apart a solemn day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, in this great distress.” The Pilgrims gathered for a prayer service that lasted some 8-9 hours, and by its end, a day that had begun hot and clear had become overcast, and for the next fourteen days, a steady, gentle rain restored the parched earth.

“But, O the mercy of our God,” Winslow exulted, “who was as ready to hear as we to ask.” (Excerpted from The First Thanksgiving We Don’t Remember) Our nation was founded by pilgrims who not just believed in the One, true God, but practiced their faith on a daily basis. They were careful to give God thanks in everything, just as the Bible instructs six different times with the exact same language: “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1; Psalm 136:1; and Jeremiah 33:11)

In the midst of football games, hunting trips and family gatherings where we’ll eat far more than we need to, let us all take time to stop and thank God for all He has provided for us. Put aside the politics, the family disputes and all the other “little” things that come between us, and let’s really be thankful for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. With so much wickedness, disease, death and more all around us, if we are able to gather around a table with people we love, we have reason to be thankful.

On this Thanksgiving, I’ll slow down from this busy life to pause and reflect upon all of God’s blessings and give Him proper thanks for all He has done.

I’ll first thank Him for my salvation – a true change of heart that occurred when I was 25 years old back in 1994. Then I’ll thank Him for all the second chances he has provided in my life, such as a second chance for salvation, marriage and ministry.

I’ll also thank Him for a loving wife, who gives far more than anyone knows and loves me and her children as only a mother can. Kim is the most supportive individual in my life and her encouragement has allowed me to grow in ways I didn’t think possible.

My children will also be at the top of my thankfulness list. I can’t imagine life without Reagan, Tyler, Tanner, Trace and Tripp. They bring Kim and me so much joy and we are so proud of them all. We are also thankful for the extra women in our lives, Anna and Nikki, Tyler and Tanner’s wives, and our two precious grandchildren provided to us by Tyler, Haddie and Finn. This year, we also are thankful for God sending Reagan her husband, Joe, and the possibility of additional grandchildren in the near future.

I will also thank God for providing us with one of the top newspaper staffs in the world. Their dedication to professionalism with integrity allows us to continue to move forward in our service to this parish.

My list will certainly be longer, but I’ll end this column by letting you know that I will also be thanking God for you, the reader and our loyal advertisers with this newspaper.

Despite all of our mistakes since acquiring ownership, you have faithfully stood by us and supported us as we continue to serve the citizens of LaSalle Parish. We thank God that He has allowed us to step into this role and continue the standard that was set for over 50 years by my dad.

We acknowledge that God is the author and finisher of our faith and any success we achieve is only by the grace of God and for His glory.

May each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and provide your list of thankfulness to God at some point during Thursday.