Over the years I sang “Over the RIver” with my family. At first I sang the song as we drove over Biscayne Bay to spend Thanksgiving with my grandmother. Later I sang this song with my children as we traveled to either grandparents in the east across the James River; or the grandparents in the west across the Arkansas River. Our trips wer fun, the food was great, and it is always fun to be with family.
Thanksgiving is a festival which calls us to remember our God and our faith. Traditionally we remember our Pilgrim forefathers on this holiday. These English Puritans and separatists crossed the river called the Atlantic Ocean to find religious freedom in the colonies. When you read the story of hardship as these colonists settled in New England you can really understand why they would gather with the Indians in gratitude to worship God and give thanks for their first rich harvest season.
Our Pilgrim forefathers looked to the people of Israel as they talked about faith. The people of Israel also crossed a river, the Red Sea, as they crossed out of Egypt and set the foundation for their harvest festival, Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Every year this festival is celebrated to remember how my ancestors were cared for by God during forty years in the wilderness before crossing a river (the Jordan) into the promised land.
Thanksgiving is a festival for people who launch out in faith, departing persecution in order to find a new home. This Christmas we will remember how Joseph and Mary took Advent Journeys to pay taxes in Bethlehem and to escape the intended murder of their Son at the hands of King Herod.
Many in our world still travel over the river and through the woods because of religious persecution. We must pray for them, care for them as God said, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” and give thanks to our God that we have been cared for and enjoy bounties of this life because of His Giving.
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