Matthews Family Herald

Hello. In light of the current, special time of year, I sent this explanation to a Germany friend here of what Thanksgiving means to us. Thought it might help to share about what perspective we'll be celebrating it from here in our home:

"This weekend is an important Holy day, of sorts for us although not commanded in the Bible. It's a time when we remember, as you probably know, when those followers of God wanted freedom to worship and to live with less corruption around them and so they took their families to Holland. After a time, Holland wasn't the right place either and so they set sail for what is now America. My family and I know that not everyone who came to America back then came for the right reasons and some of them wanted to take advantage of the natives and exploit them. All of that aside, I still believe there were those people who sincerely came because they wanted to start a new life and serve God honestly and if their were natives, those good people did not want to take advantage of the natives but to share with them. So, after arriving, those first pilgrims had a terrible winter and suffered. However, some of the natives came to their aid and shared food and resources. The next spring, the natives also taught these settlers how to farm and there was a big crop. So, those seekers after God and after a pure life (they called themselves "Puritans") were both grateful to the natives who helped them and to God for helping them by way of the natives. so, in a spirit of mutual friendship and in thanksgiving to God, they help a great feast and offered thanks to God. So, that was our first Thanksgiving celebration in America. Unfortunately, the holidays as they are now called instead of "Holy Days" are stripped of their actual meaning and so most people joke around about "Turkey Day" since we eat a lot of Turkey and then get sleepy. :) But in truth, it is a celebration offering thanks to God for delievering our ancestors and also a thanks to God today for caring for us and blessing us no matter what hardship we have come through."