Have you ever felt uncomfortable or cramped while traveling with friends on a long trip?

Maybe you had to travel in a van or bus with a bunch of people and you just wanted to “get there” or at least get out and stretch your legs.

On this Thanksgiving morning I wanted to think back about 400 years in history to the Pilgrim’s journey on the Mayflower.

Here are a few “Mayflower Facts”

THE PILGRIMS IN THE MAYFLOWER – 1620
During the voyage, the 102 Mayflower passengers lived primarily on the gun deck.  The length of the deck from stem to stern was about 80 feet, of which about 12 feet at the back belonged to the gun room and was probably off-limits to the passengers.  The width at the widest part was about 24 feet.  Various hatches provided access to the cargo hold below.  The windlass and capstan, both used to haul heavy items by rope between the decks, also took up floor-space, as did the main mast in the middle, and the sprit sail mast in the front.  Many of the families built themselves small little “cabins,” simple wooden dividers nailed together, to provide a small amount of privacy.  102 passengers – 42 of the 102  were pilgrims.
20 crew members
The cargo ship Mayflower was constantly leaking
It took nine and half weeks to get to the new land.

Here is a cross section of what the Pilgrims living quarters looked like.

80 feet long                                                                                       24 feet wide

Maybe things are tight for you right now. Maybe you feel like life is closing in around you, or you feel stuck.

God can bring you through situations you think you won’t survive, or feel you’ll be stuck in forever. He can make you comfortable in the most uncomfortable places, and give you peace in the midst of trauma. Before your life is over you’ll live, love, and experience loss. Losing some things will actually help you to appreciate the things you still have. It’s the taste of failure that makes success sweet. You’ll live each day not knowing what tomorrow holds, but confident that God has your tomorrows all planned out. They’re not in the hands of your boss or your banker or your mate or anybody else. Nor are they in your own hands to manipulate and control. No, all your tomorrows are in God’s hands.
Just because you don’t recognize the path you’re on doesn’t mean that God’s not leading you. He promises, “I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them” (Isa 42:16 NKJV). So get to know God – you’ll need Him. And He’ll be there for you. He’ll be there when everybody and everything else has failed you. He’ll be there for you in the tight, cramped and dark places.

Your new and fresh future will be worth your temporary troubles.

Keep moving forward toward your destination. Keep the forward progress in your spiritual journey.

I am a  pilgrim.

1 Peter 2:11

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Steve