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Post by lindajoan on Nov 22, 2017 14:13:13 GMT
Happy Thanksgiving to all our special friends. God bless us all. We thank the Lord for His many blessings.
Love, Linda
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Post by JeepGirl on Nov 22, 2017 15:20:06 GMT
My wishes also, for a blessed Thanksgiving, to everyone who posts here, as well as those who simply visit but, are also going through estrangement.
In spite of missing our estranged children and grandchildren, God has given us blessings and I pray we can each focus and be thankful for those this Thanksgiving Day. J
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Post by luke2231 on Nov 22, 2017 21:17:38 GMT
Happy Thanksgiving to all you lovely people. There are STILL a lot of things I'm grateful for and this group is one of them. Blessings to all...
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Post by byhisgracealone on Nov 22, 2017 21:29:12 GMT
Happy Thanksgiving to all our sisters and brothers struggling through estrangement. I am grateful for each of you, and may God bless all of us.
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Post by difficulttime2 on Nov 23, 2017 5:40:13 GMT
HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! MAY YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL AND PEACE FILLED DAY!
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Post by everloving11 on Nov 23, 2017 17:16:14 GMT
Let me try to put Thanksgiving in perspective: I am related to two of the 50 surviving Pilgrims. Only 102 came over to the New World ~ most for religious freedom. The good-byes were tearful because most would never see their parents, children, friends EVER again on this earth...those left behind in England were estranged by distance FOREVER. My great-(x 11)-grandfather, John Howland, was an indentured servant; Elizabeth Tilley was the only survivor of her family after that first brutal winter. John almost died while on the Mayflower --- or should I say, "off". During a terrific Atlantic storm, he decided to go topside to get a breath of fresh air and got bucked off the boat. By Providence (he said) a rope from the unfurled sails landed in front of him and by Providence a sailor happened to be walking on the side of the boat he fell off of and heard his screams for help. Why is this so important to me? If he had perished, I would not be here and so would 3.5 million people alive today. One person makes a difference ~~~ YOU make a difference! That first Winter, half of them perished. The following year's harvest was abundant, so they had a Thanksgiving feast that lasted 3 days. By the way, the Pilgrims (of which only 4 were women over the age of 16 to cook for everyone) invited Chief Massasoit but he feigned misunderstanding and brought along 90 hungry braves ONE DAY EARLY. Imagine you sitting quietly at home yesterday and 90 hungry teenage boys showed up. YIKES!!! Anyway, there were lots of shooting, running, and catching games (a forerunner of the NFL games played today?) Most importantly, they were thankful TO GOD. The following harvest was dismal, but they still gathered together to give thanks, each with only 5 kernels of corn at their plate. One of the Pilgrim leaders wrote (my paraphrase), "We came over here with nothing but we had everything because we had our Heavenly Father." Do you have Everything? Even if you are estranged from a loved one: through distance, rejection, or death? I am blessed to have ancestors that were willing to sacrifice all they had, including their very lives, to give me that freedom to freely know my All in All. They chose to estrange themselves from all they counted dear for the privilege to worship freely. My Lord Jesus Christ is my Everything! Have a most blessed Thanksgiving ~ truly giving thanks. Perhaps giving thanks to God when it seems like all has been taken from you is the highest form of worship ~~~ I Thessalonians 5:15-19 "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit."
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Post by 1hurtmom on Nov 23, 2017 20:13:19 GMT
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
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Post by luke2231 on Nov 24, 2017 2:02:14 GMT
Everloving,
That is just beautiful, truly! I've often thought about that, people estranged by distance and travel limitations, etc... In some ways, we as modern parents are relatively spoiled by history's standards. Until the advent of trains, family members that moved away almost always never saw each other again in their lifetimes. Children grew up and lived their lives separately from their families. I wonder if maybe I expect, and have expected, too much closeness with my children. Roles have shifted and changed throughout centuries, but the one thing that never changes is a God that loves me, carries me, carries my family, including my estranged child because He will never leave nor forsake us. THAT is something to be thankful for in ways I can't even fathom. Thank you for reminding me of that!
I hope it was a blessed day for everyone.
(I am descended from one of the pilgrims on the Mayflower too!)
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Post by everloving11 on Nov 24, 2017 5:25:07 GMT
Oh Luke2231 ~ I could just hug you - virtually through my ancestors back in 1621. Could you tell me which Pilgrim you are related to (if it doesn't give away your last name)? Of the 52 who survived and divide that number by 2 === you have only 26 couples that produced approximately 3.5 million descendants alive today x 26. AMAZING!!! My 2 ancestors knew your 2 ancestors...celebrated that first Thanksgiving together. MIND-BOGGLING!!! Talk about time travel...you've made my day. BTW, what does C-Hope mean?
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Post by luke2231 on Nov 24, 2017 15:23:50 GMT
Everloving,
Oops! That's a name I use in a reading group elsewhere. I was answering a question about the book we're reading, prior to writing this and I totally mixed up my names!! Anyway, it means what it sounds like; I see hope. I may falter having it about lots of things at times, but overall, I know my hope is in Jesus, so I don't have to rely on my own version of hope. Make sense?
My relative was Francis Eaton, a carpenter. He came over with his wife Sarah, and their two-month old son, Samuel. It never ceases to amaze me that a two month old survived when older pasengers died on the way over. And Samuel even lived to a pretty ripe old age, having 6 kids himself! If you ever visit Plimouth Plantation, they sell a book called "Samuel Eaton's Day" about the son, which is my ancestor!
And it is a small world, but, we all come from the same FATHER, so in a way, it's not a small world, just a big family!!! ;-)
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Post by everloving11 on Nov 24, 2017 16:07:54 GMT
Amen and amen. Yes, I have heard of the Eatons. YOU wouldn't be here if little Samuel had perished. How fragile our lives really are. If God didn't hold us all together, we would blow away like dust. And YES ~ having the same Heavenly Father connects us in a richer way than mere genes. That He would call Himself our Father and relationship with us is beyond imagination ~ YET He gently holds us close through the storms in His arms of peace and rest. In a way, He shows how much He values us when He allows us to go through these trials --- and promises NEVER to leave nor forsake us. It hurts ~ but it will be worth it all. YES ~ I C-Hope everyday. Had a melt-down yesterday when the family decided not to come over for Christmas but Christmas Eve (working issues). Reminded me of two Christmases ago when the celebration was postponed because our ES decided to come into town and show off his new baby to a few members of the family --- but not us. The strange thing is that God told me that he was in town and I had a 'vision' that one of my granddaughters would innocently tell me that she had seen her new cousin --- and that is exactly what happened. As I was sharing my feelings yesterday with my oldest daughter, she reminded me of events 23 years ago when her then-husband forbade me from seeing our first granddaughter but would drive by our house and hold the baby up and laugh at me. Then this same little girl was removed from her home when she was 7 and we got her as a foster child (through the social services kinship program) for the next few years. Looking back, we more than got her back. Somehow, through the terror and the pain, things worked out and this granddaughter and I are very close to this day. Thank you for sharing, luke.
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