ON GRACE AND GRATITUDE

I was watching an episode of "American Experience" on PBS the other night, which was about the Mayflower Pilgrims and their journey to the New World, and how their story became the beginning of the legend of the birth of America. Mark was beside me on the sofa, his eyes glassed over as he silently endured the searing boredom of a two-hour PBS program, but that's what happens when you hand Paulie the remote and say, "Find something."
To be honest, the only reason I began watching the program was to see whether they were going to get it right and mention the fact that the Pilgrims came ashore here In Provincetown first, before eventually moving on to Plymouth. They did get it right, as a matter of fact, although the name of "Provincetown" was never mentioned in favor of "off the shore of Cape Cod." That was acceptable, though, considering the spot had no English name at the time, and the first Tea Dance wouldn't be held until the arrival of Cher, years later in 1687. I kept watching, though, because it was pretty interesting; and I do secretly enjoy those times when Mark has been mesmerized into a kind of anesthetic silence.
The story was just reaching the point of what came to be known as "the first Thanksgiving". Hanging, as I do, on language and words, I was struck by something one of the commentators said. "But part of the reason that they were grateful was that they had been in such misery, that they had lost so many people, on both sides." Interesting, I thought to myself; bit of a contradiction in terms. She continued, "So, in some way, that day of thanksgiving is also coming out of mourning; it's also coming out of grief."
Thankful, because they had lost so much.
Sometimes, when we hear about history, it all just seems like a bunch of dates and numbers, names of monarchs and battles. But sometimes, if we really think about it, apply the dates and the numbers to things we can really relate to, it can give history a little bit more relevance. I began to think about these "Pilgrims" a bit, what they had been through and what had brought them to that feast, that moment of thanks.
The Mayflower Compact was signed in Provincetown harbor on November 11, 1620. November 11 - that is just a few weeks ago. Have you ever spent a November in Provincetown? It's usually pretty cold, in the first place, and not a whole lot going on in the way of abundance. So, what that means is that these people were setting foot for the very first time in a land they had never seen before, now, at this time of year. They had no growing season, no glorious summer, no time to "put aside" for the leaner seasons. They had maybe a month, if they were lucky, to find or build shelter, gather some food, and figure out how to keep warm for the next six months. It takes me at least a month to figure out what to pack for a two-week vacation in Cabo, for God's sake. And these were not superhuman, civil engineering, loaves-and-fishes miracle workers. They were a rag-tag assembly of religious nuts, sailors, and Dutch profiteers who didn't necessarily know more about building a house, or a road, or a mill, than you and I do. 
45 of the 102 immigrants died during the first winter.
So, no wonder a year later, when they looked around themselves and saw how far they had come, when they saw the corn and the squash and the firewood they had put by, they prepared, as Edward Winslow said, "to in a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors."
Thankful, because they had lost so much.
They had been hungry, so they were thankful for the harvest. They had been cold, so they were thankful for a house, no matter  how humble. They had been alone, so they were thankful for an ally, even if their skin was a different color and they prayed to a different god.
So, what's the lesson here? Jason Mraz sings "Son sometimes it may seem dark, but the absence of the light is a necessary part." Today, while we're counting our blessings and basking in the warmth of families and friends and buttery Chardonnay, remember that the reason we are grateful for all those things we find precious, is that none of it is given to us without conditions. 
And perhaps also remember that some day in the future, and that day will come, when we mourn, when we hunger, when we find ourselves on the shore of some unknown world, that the time will come again, through the grace of God, through the love of friends, and through our own inner strength, when we will be filled with gratitude.