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Show JUST STUFF W BY JfiN Vk What if things had been different? Many years ago, before the ; Pilgrims left for this "new" land, what if they had changed their minds and decided not to come? Whet ? would we be today? 1 W! i' I the Mayflower hadn't mac!.' ,-oss the ocean? It could have . - nd left no survivors. What if the Pilgrims arrived at . Plymouth Rock, took one look at the place, and decided they couldn't cut it? Where would we be today if they hadn't survived the winters, the diseases, the wilds? Luckily they survived, even if "they" were only a handful. But they arrived and they survived and they were so grateful for everything they had, bounteous crops, shelter and each other, they set aside one day to give thanks to God, however they perceived Him to be, for their many blessings. And the day of Thanksgiving became a tradition. Now, many years after that first Thanksgiving, we, too, offer thanks for all that we have. Jus' in the dinner alone we have much to be grateful for. The turkey was most likely purchased at the local grocery store, along with all 'he fixins'. It will be basted, most likely, in butter from a box and cooked in an electric roaster or oven. If you're lucky, you will have freshly picked potatoes, but for most of us, they too, will have come from 'he grocery store. The rolls may be homemade, but did you grow the wheat, grind it and mill the flour? We worry that dinner might be interrupted by a phone call or kickoff of one of the football games, no' an attack on our lives from wild animals or Indians. At our house on Thanksgiving, we're exchanging names for Christmas and cutting Christmas 'rees. We're not worrying about how 'o survive the winter; if there's enough firewood chopped or food stored. Rarely do we take the time to realize just how very lucky we are. And we are. Have a happy Thanksgiving. |