Q & A

Q and A

By Amy Gentry

Q: What is the God story behind the first Thanksgiving?

A: God’s finger prints are all over the formation of our country; hearts of men as well as the structure to come. Before the first Thanksgiving was even on the horizon God began to lay a foundation.  An Indian man named Squanto was kidnapped by an English Captain, taken to England, forced to learn English, escaped, and returned home to the reality that his whole tribe had succumbed to a fatal plague.

   Squanto heard from a local tribesman that new settlers were trying to settle his tribal land, but to no avail.  It was then that Squanto discovered his purpose; he wanted to see his tribal soil rich and prosperous again.  By God’s blessing, he could speak English to communicate with the Pilgrims.  Squanto taught the Pilgrims what they needed to know to survive in his land.  He worked alongside the Pilgrims to demonstrate how to make that land produce, what and how to plant crops that would sustain them, which herbs could be used as medicines, and how to stalk the living prey of the land.

   The Pilgrims were planting seeds too.  Squanto watched how they loved one another and how they loved him.  He listened as the bible was read every morning and every evening.  He attended their prayer meetings and saw how God was moving in the lives of the Pilgrims and how their seemingly impossible prayers were being answered.  Squanto’s heart was grabbed by God and he asked Jesus to save him.

   There is no doubt that as a result of the evil done to Squanto the lives of the Pilgrims were spared.  I wonder if one of the stories that Squanto heard was the story of Joseph.   “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”  (Genesis 50:20)