Perhaps when you read the title you thought that I meant that the Pilgrims had to take some time at a sanatorium to regain their grip on reality. However, in this case the point is that Pilgrims had a goal and were committed to reaching it.
I know that this week, especially today, there are many blogs and emails about thankfulness and I want to encourage everyone to be thankful for the many, many positive people and things in life. But as I was deciding on the subject of my Thanksgiving blog, I thought about the first Thanksgiving for the Pilgrims. Now let me say that I would NOT have made a good Pilgrim. Can you imagine the conversation between me and my Pilgrim husband when he told me he wanted me to get on a tiny little ship with a bunch of people and stay with them for weeks as we crossed an OCEAN together? And then at the end of this lovely trip, would I be able to get away from them??? No sirree bob!! We were all going to "build a new way of life together." No shops, no new shoes, no hair salons, no grocery markets! Definitely not my idea of fun!
The Pilgrims must have been really, really, really committed to their belief that they were doing the "right thing" to leave all that they knew behind, travel with their spouses and children, and forge a community out of wild wilderness! They wanted to create a place where their children could worship God as they saw fit and were willing to sacrifice whatever it took to achieve that goal.
I am committed to achieving a few goals myself. Obviously, I have the goal to be a published author. I have also had the goals of getting my Master's degree and being in a healthy relationship. Sometimes each of these goals seem to pull me a different way and I have to sacrifice something to move closer to another goal. I am almost finished with graduate school and am dating a funny, smart guy who lives in my town. Perhaps now I can turn more energy to achieving the third goal of getting published!
What are somethings you are or have been committed to?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Stephanie
At one time in my life I was committed to ridding the U.S. of criminals. It was a wonderful job that gave me a sense of accomplishment. Then I was committed to raising my son to be a better, caring person - I accomplished that - he is all I could have hoped for when I started. Now I am committed to rewriting the two books which the editor requested. I might be committed to that sanatorium before it's all over. I have also recommitted myself to my marriage, something that had taken a backseat to everything else for years. I have a lot of things to do and, like the Pilgrims, I intend to succeed.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving, Stephanie and Cheryl! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic blog post! (o sorry I wasn't able to get online yesterday.) I don't know that I would have made a good pilgrim either. Kind of reminds me of the hit show 'Green Acres' where the wife was taken from Manhattan and placed on a farm. Da da da da da DA DA! "You are my wife." "Goodbye city life!" "Geen Acres we are there!"
I've spent the past 20+ years raising my children. And now with kids in college, I've gone back to work. I have a dream of becoming a published author and spend every extra moment writing. I've volunteered for school events, chaired boards and attended meetings of various groups to help with charity work or clubs of a personal nature.
Being passionate about something you love is the primary way to stay committed. I believe the pilgrims were passionate about worshiping the way they wanted to, living the way they wanted to, free of European leadership. That passion had to have been very strong in order to put them in so much danger. The unknown, sailing off to a land you've never seen, facing strange people of another culture with a language barrier, these all had to be extremely harsh conditions.
Commitment often comes with a price. It's our job to decide whether or not the price is worth the taking. ;)
Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Right now, I'm just committed to getting Lady Silver finished by Sunday.
ReplyDeleteCheryl-I am sure you will succeed in your goal of being published!
ReplyDeleteKathy-Always go to hear from you whenever you can make it to the tree :-)
Patrica-Good luck on meeting that goal!
Patricia, please stay committed and finish Lady Silver!!
ReplyDeleteY'all have got to get the chance to read Patricia's story. It's fabulous!! :D