William Bradford, perhaps the most well knows of all the English separatists to make the crazy trip across the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620, lives on at our Thanksgiving table every year. Part of our tradition is to recite his poem, "Epitaphium Meum". At one point the verse simply says:
"In fears and wants, through weal and woe,
As pilgrim passed I to and fro..."
(Weal is an old English word for prosperity, happiness and well being.)
Pilgrimage is a theme that has captured my heart for a lifetime. This idea of leaving behind an old life, venturing out on the uncharted, seeking a fit homeland for the breadth of one's deepest desires - and despising the pains and troubles to get there- this is the stuff of every great story.
Most people know about the hardships the first puritans endured to find a home wide enough to hold their greatest treasure: an unfettered relationship with Jesus Christ These folks were tough. They were weird by our modern cultural norms, but deeper and stronger that just about any American alive today. They had something I keep thinking about, a rare and beautiful quality that makes these sojourners stand out in the dark landscape of history:
Defiant Gratitude.
You've likely known a few of these types of folks in your lifetime. They have not had easy lives. The wilderness they have travelled - through addiction, loss, betrayal, heartache and a thousand other snares- has not suffered them to be resentful or bitter, but winsome and grateful. Here in 2020, (a kind of crappy year by most modern standards), I long to leave my complaining behind and get a little closer to the attitude of my long-dead puritan brothers and sisters. They, who in their first winter lost half their company to pestilence. They, who were separated by an ocean (with no modern communication) from beloved family and friends in England and the Netherlands. They, who despite all of those troubles and many more practiced defiant gratitude.
What are some simple ways defiant gratitude can play out?
When self pity comes because this holiday season does not meet our expectations, we can blast the music and dance anyway while making the stuffing (my plan for tonite!)
Write down 3 blessings in your life and rejoice over them.
Tell someone you're thankful for them and why.
For my fellow pilgrims, followers of the One and Only, for us I pray a deep humility that will cause us to make gratitude a way of life. We are always looking for God's will for us. Here it is in black and white:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
For any of my dear friends who are not followers of Christ who may read these words, I pray heartily: be reconciled to God. He is the Captain of your Mayflower, ready to take you on a great pilgrimage to Himself - a land so broad and beautiful that it is impossible to put into puny words. You only need step aboard the ship. Nothing would fill my heart with more gratitude than to share this wild trek with you on the narrow road to the blessed heavenly homeland. Sinners like me, saved by grace, walk gratefully through the mountains and the valleys of this temporary territory.
Happiest of Thanksgivings! May it be will with your souls! I've included the William Bradford's poem in its entirety below.
Your friend on the pilgrim road,
LS
Epitaphium Meum
From my years young in dayes of Youth,
God did make known to me his Truth,
And call'd me from my Native place
For to enjoy the Means of Grace.
In Wilderness he did me guide,
And in strange Lands for me provide.
In Fears and Wants, through Weal and Woe,
As Pilgrim past I to and fro:
Oft left of them whom I did trust;
How vain it is to rest on Dust!
A man of Sorrows I have been,
And many Changes I have seen.
Wars, Wants, Peace, Plenty have I known;
And some advanc'd, others thrown down.
The humble, poor, cheerful and glad;
Rich, discontent, sower and sad:
When Fears with Sorrows have been mixt,
Consolations came betwixt.
Faint not, poor Soul, in God still trust,
Fear not the things thou suffer must;
For, whom he loves he doth chastise,
And then all Tears wipes from their eyes.
Farewell, dear Children, whom I love,
Your better Father is above:
When I am gone, he can supply;
To him I leave you when I dye.
Fear him in Truth, walk in his Wayes,
And he will bless you all your dayes.
My dayes are spent, Old Age is come,
My Strength it fails, my Glass near run:
Now I will wait when work is done,
Untill my happy Change shall come,
When from my labours I shall rest
With Christ above for to be blest.
God did make known to me his Truth,
And call'd me from my Native place
For to enjoy the Means of Grace.
In Wilderness he did me guide,
And in strange Lands for me provide.
In Fears and Wants, through Weal and Woe,
As Pilgrim past I to and fro:
Oft left of them whom I did trust;
How vain it is to rest on Dust!
A man of Sorrows I have been,
And many Changes I have seen.
Wars, Wants, Peace, Plenty have I known;
And some advanc'd, others thrown down.
The humble, poor, cheerful and glad;
Rich, discontent, sower and sad:
When Fears with Sorrows have been mixt,
Consolations came betwixt.
Faint not, poor Soul, in God still trust,
Fear not the things thou suffer must;
For, whom he loves he doth chastise,
And then all Tears wipes from their eyes.
Farewell, dear Children, whom I love,
Your better Father is above:
When I am gone, he can supply;
To him I leave you when I dye.
Fear him in Truth, walk in his Wayes,
And he will bless you all your dayes.
My dayes are spent, Old Age is come,
My Strength it fails, my Glass near run:
Now I will wait when work is done,
Untill my happy Change shall come,
When from my labours I shall rest
With Christ above for to be blest.
