Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving

This book . . . Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving--I cannot say enough good things about it. My children picked this book up in our church library; they handed it to me and asked if we could bring it home. We read it together and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to recommend it to my readers here. 

First, I must say what an incredible blessing church libraries are . . . my sister, who is an avid (voracious :-) is a better word :-)) reader organizes our church library and fills it with such treasures.  My children always find a book that they like and this time it was this one--

Partly because I grew up in New England and partly because I love history, the Pilgrims have always held a very special place in my heart. One of my favorite places to visit (we used to camp there when I was a little girl) is Plymouth. I love the cobblestone streets, the roar of the water at the Jenney Gristmill, and especially Burial Hill where many of the great men and women who risked their lives to begin fresh in the New World are laid to rest. 

I realized that Squanto, of the Patuxet Tribe, helped the Pilgrims to survive in the New World after their harrowing first winter. But this book, written by Eric Metaxas, delves more deeply into the details of Squanto's early life and of his conversion to Christianity that I was not aware of. This book fascinated me. I never realized that Squanto was captured as a young boy and sold as a slave in Spain. I never realized that sincere, compassionate monks bought him and treated him kindly, and then found a way for him to return to his native land. The seed of Christianity was planted in his heart through the loving example of those humble men of God. When Squanto returned to the village where he was born, he learned to his devastation that his entire village had been wiped out--not one member of his tribe had survived--except him--because he had been sold as a slave and had been delayed from returning to his village. 

Truly, the Lord worked in a marvelous way in this young Native American's life, using, like Joseph, men's evil for ultimate good in the life of Squanto and ultimately for the good of the Pilgrims who were struggling to survive in an unfamiliar place.  Squanto was instrumental in helping the Pilgrims to learn to hunt, fish, and plant in the New World. He could even communicate with the Pilgrims as he had learned their language while in captivity. His long confinement had turned into a blessing both for himself and for those around him. What men intended for evil, God used for good. 

This book is so well worth reading--the paperback is priced extremely reasonably on Amazon. It is definitely a worthwhile book to add to your family library. Eric Metaxas lends his usual wonderful writing style to the book and it is such a rich, historic story suitable for children and adults alike. 

The Waiting, the Wedding, and the Wonder of His Mercy--Trusting Him When Prayer Goes Unanswered

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
--Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh.

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

--George Croly

There are times when our prayers go unanswered.

We feel like God has put us on the back burner, on the "shelf."

All around is silence.

Like the aching stillness after a winter blizzard.

Like the quietness of summer's breeze through the stifling heat that will not break.

I was engaged for 5 years.

It was an act of the conscience and of the will -- it was an act of necessity -- my father left our family.

In a destitute and precarious position -- but only after a seeming-eternal period of wavering between coming and going. 

Unusual circumstances forced and compelled my now-husband and I to wait. 

We were engaged 5 years. 

At times I felt as though my youth was being eaten-up--

I was "losing" my years -- my years to have children, my years to keep a home, my happy, carefree years--

Instead they were etched with sorrow and poverty and continual trials.

But the Lord was, in reality, redeeming my years . . . 

I learned valuable skills during those years and in the years surrounding them--sewing, knitting, playing the piano . . . skills that have enriched and benefited me and my family, skills that I probably wouldn't have pursued as strongly if I didn't have those waiting years . . . 

I look back upon that time now -- look back --

When the desperation and the quiet silent stillness seemed unbearable --

When I felt like I just couldn't wait in uncertainty one more day. 

And five years seemed an eternity . . . 

But I look back now and see His love. 

The waiting was hard. 

But the answer was beautiful . . . in His perfect time.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. 

After five long years, the storm broke, the dust cleared. 

We were poor as poor could be, but the Lord was with us.  

We didn't have the money to get married; we weren't sure what we were going to do.  My mom was struggling to keep her home; our family lived day to day on the edge of poverty. So we prayed. 

I always dreamed of getting married at a local rustic venue called The Francis Farm. 

I had visited there once, filled out a paper saying that I was interested and then left, feeling in my heart that it could never be -- it was far too expensive -- it just would not be possible. 

Another hope that I had buried in my heart was that we would be able to invite everyone in our smallish church, as well as our close friends and relatives -- that no one would feel excluded; this was a burden on my heart. 

This story sounds incredible, but it is true. 

One day, deep into the five years of our engagement, the home phone -- where I lived with my Mom and my younger sister, rang. 

The person on the other line asked for me. It was a representative from the Francis Farm.

And what she said was all a blur. Because of the "hard" financial times that the country was going through, they wanted to give a free wedding to one person they had picked randomly from a pile of papers of people like me who had expressed a desire to have their wedding there. 

My name was chosen.

The budget that they allotted me enabled me to invite everyone that we desired to.

The Lord had worked miraculously, and I still look back on that event with wonder. 

The Lord in His mercy had answered my deepest prayer. 

I had always wanted to be married in June as well and there was a date available -- June 19th. 

The Lord is merciful. 

And had worked wonders for me, for my husband. We had waited -- only by the grace of God -- and He blessed us --

We had waited, sometimes in quiet desperation, but in faith, knowing that our Lord was good. 

He gave us the desire of our heart. 

Sometimes prayer goes unanswered because the Lord is preparing to bring great glory to Himself -- and a greater blessing than if He had answered immediately or if we had taken matters into our own hands.

In this situation, I had been convinced through prayer that it was the Lord's will for my now-husband and I to be married.

The Lord was teaching me yieldness and surrender, teaching me the lesson of believing, persevering prayer -- teaching me to wait upon Him and to trust Him where I saw no human answer. 

We were waiting for His perfect timing; waiting for a door to open -- a door that only He could open in our unusual situation. 

We dig the trenches of prayer so that He can fill them with His abundance. . . 

He gave in abundance. 

He is a merciful God. 

When prayer, in agreement and submission to His will goes unanswered, He is preparing us for a blessing, perhaps not the blessing we were expecting, but when we truly wait upon Him, His answer will be beautiful in due season.

He is gracious. 

He loves to do the unexpected.

To teach us to trust Him through the agony of unanswered prayer, to teach us the fellowship of sharing in his suffering--

That we also may share in His joy. 

The principle is this--when we wait upon God in yielded, surrendered trust (the Lord helping us in our weakness) He visits us with His faithfulness. 

The miracle came at the end of surrender . . . 

Or perhaps, maybe the miracle is the grace to surrender itself . . . 

And so we drove away on that day in June under the brilliant blue sky -- knowing that He had waited so that He could be gracious to us . . . 

"I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

Revelation 3:8 NKJV

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday

Grace in Small Places

He also brought me out into a broad place;

He delivered me because He delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19

I'm learning that God's grace comes to us in surprising places . . . 

And many times that His grace comes in small places, in unexpected places, in places that the world looks over, but that the Lord sees as His stepping-stones to glory.

The manger, a small place, that held the glory of the Son of Righteousness, the Firstborn of creation. 

A small basket, whose five loaves and two fish fed 5000 and a small boy who offered the meager and the small. 

A small following - twelve disciples - whose testimony through the Lord's power shook nations. 

The Lord works through small things, so that His glory may shine greater through the impossibility of it all. 

And that all the glory is His alone. 

I'm in a small place right now. 

I didn't think of it as small when I first married, when my husband and I made our "home" in my Mom's home 5 years ago. 

It was cozy then, and we didn't need a lot of space; it was adequate, and we loved living with my Mom and still do. 

But then, the first baby came along, a little girl, and things got "cozier." 

It was still alright, though, and became a little easier when my Mom offered us the spare room for her to sleep in just before I gave birth to our second child.

A little boy. 

And I thought, how am I going to do this, fit all of our things, keep everything organized, stay sane? 

Add to this that my Mom has her house up for sale and most of my belongings are in storage. 

And that I am by nature an excessively organized person - for better, or for worse - and that I feel like I'm losing it when things are "out of place." 

I felt overwhelmed. And I looked at the clutter around me, the organized clutter, but clutter nonetheless, and I felt like it was closing in around me. 

And the space seemed so small  and I envied my friends who owned homes and even the ones who had apartments and I thought, if only I had more space. 

If only I had more space . . . 

If only I could organize my baby's toys and books . . . 

If only I could find Elisha's baby book - it must be packed away somewhere . . . 

If only, if only, if only. 

But the Lord constantly speaks to me in this small place, and though I still struggle with discontentment, I ultimately would not have it any other way.

Because this is His will for me right now. 

I know, I know, I know that He has placed me here for this time and that at the right time, He will bring me out into a spacious place. 

There are lessons that I have learned in this "small place" that I could never have learned anywhere else. 

So I would not change anything. 

And this small place holds blessings, hidden blessings, when I look beyond the "littleness" of my own thinking. 

My mother's constant loving influence on my children and the Godly advice that she offers me on a daily basis . . . 

Learning contentment in a "small place" so that by His grace, I may not take His provision for granted if He should choose to place me in a larger place . . .

My sister's help with my daughter when I was healing after giving birth to my second child . . .

My family's constantly stepping in to watch my babies for doctor's appointments, etc. 

So many blessings, countless blessings. 

And I'm reminded -

Reminded that the Lord works through the small, through the insignificant for
His glory.

And I believe that He will work through my small place, too. 

He's humbling me, teaching me to depend upon Him, softening my nit-pickiness into surrender. 

Sometimes we want great things, big things, when the Lord often works through the small. 

We want greatness, and then the Lord teaches us that to become great we must first learn to serve (Mark 10:35-45).

That He takes widows' mites, and poverty and our lack of ability so that He can work His glory and strength through our weakness. 

He works through small places . . . and then in His perfect timing, enlarges the pathway under us, so that our feet do not slip. 

So I hold onto this promise, and thank Him in the meantime for the grace to grow in this blessed small place:

“Enlarge the place of your tent,

And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;

Do not spare;

Lengthen your cords,

And strengthen your stakes. 

For you shall expand to the right and to the left, 

And your descendants will inherit the nations, 

And make the desolate cities inhabited." 

Isaiah 52:2-3

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Yes They Are All Ours, Missional Call, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Messy Marriage, My Teacher's Name is Mama, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, Oakhill Homestead