11/24/09

Some parsley from the Farmer's Market....


In reading my devotions last night I thought this was so interesting not only from my teacher point of view, but a different twist to the "Pilgrim" story we all hear each year. (At least I do because I teach it each year!) It spoke to me even again tonight as I typed this. I got this from my devotion booklet and this one is by Jacob Ward.

Enjoy!

Keep Hanging On

In the fall of 1620, the Pilgrims were floating in the Atlantic - far from any land. On this particular day, they were caught in a storm and the Mayflower was being tossed about like a toy. The crew of the ship manned their posts, and the Pilgrims stayed below deck in their living quarters.

Of course, "living quarters" makes it sound like they're on a cruise. In reality, the ceilings were only 5 feet hight, and 102 people were crammed into one, not very large, open space. People were sea-sick, no one had bathed for a month, and there were no bathrooms. A little revolting, don't you think?

One man - John Howland, about 21 years old - was tired of being cramped below deck. Maybe it was not being able to stand up straight, maybe it was the awful smell, but he couldn't take it anymore. He opened the hatch, climbed onto the top deck, and found himself in the middle of a ferocious storm. He was very quickly thrown over the railing into the sea.

But this was not the end of John. He caught hold of a rope on his way down and held on. And he kept hanging on even while he was more than ten feet under water - in the Atlantic, in a storm! Crew members eventually pulled him up.

John Howland shouldn't have survived, but somehow, he did. What have you been through lately? Do you feel like you're barely hanging on? Don't ever give up! God is there with you.

Romans 8:24-16 says:
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When you feel so low that you don't have the words - the Spirit speaks for you. What a comforting thought!

When Mr. Howland boarded the Mayflower, he was just a servant. He eventually bought his freedom and set up an estate in Plymouth. If you walk through the Burial Hill in Plymouth today, you can find Mr. Howland's gravestone, as well as the many gravestones on his 10 children and 88 grandchildren. He became an important man in Plymouth and was buried with honors. His gravestone reads:

He was a godly man and an ardent professor in the ways of Christ. He was one of the first comers into this land and was the last man that was left of those that came over in the ship called the Mayflower that lived in Plymouth.

Keep hanging on! You don't know what your future holds. There's always a thread of hope.

Psalm 147:11 - The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.