Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that...” - James 4:13-15
If you know me at all, you know that one of my great passions is genealogy. I am fascinated to the point of obsession with discovering more about my family history. Among my ancestors, there are few with as compelling a story as that of my 9th great grandfather (that means great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great) Thomas Blossom.
Thomas Blossom was born in 1580 in the little town of Wisbech, England (about 100 miles north of London). He attended the University of Cambridge (where at some point he received a Doctorate, probably in Theology), and married his wife Anne in 1605. Soon after, Dr. Blossom and Anne joined many other separatists from the Church of England in relocating to Leiden, Holland where they could enjoy religious freedom.
Over the years, the number of Separatists grew, and eventually they made plans to join with others from England and sail to the New World where they could establish a permanent home of their own. For years they saved, prayed, and hoped the right opportunity at the right price would come along. Finally, on August 1st, 1620, thirty-one souls departed Leiden aboard the Speedwell, bound for England where they would join up with a second ship, the Mayflower, before heading to America.
On August 5, 1620, 123 people sailed west for the New World and religious freedom once and for all. It was what they'd dreamed of, prayed for, for decades - now everything had come together. Or so they thought. Soon the 43-year-old Speedwell sprung a leak, and both vessels put into Dartmouth for repairs. The repairs having been made, they two ships set sail once more. 100 leagues past Land's End the Speedwell once again began taking on water, and painfully the two ships returned to England. At that point the decision was made to abandon the Speedwell and continue on with the Mayflower alone. Eleven passengers crowded onto the Mayflower but the rest, including the Blossom family, were forced to return to Holland. The dreams they had for so long would not be a reality after all.
Have you ever had a Speedwell moment in your life? You plan, maybe for years. You dream of big things. The "moment" arrives when your plans and dreams are about to become reality, and something unexpected happens that derails everything. Something beyond your control. Sound familiar? Probably so. I know I have experienced it. It happens to all of us. It doesn't mean it's Karma or the Wrath of God or anything else. It's not God's fault, and neither is it necessarily ours. It's the product of living in a world that God intended to be perfect but is instead overcome by the disastrous consequences of sin.
God never promised us an easy road without problems. Despite what many people often say, the Bible never says God won't give us more than we can handle. That's a misrepresentation of the Scripture that tells us we will never be tempted beyond what we can bear. In fact, Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome he world." (John 16:33) Instead, what God does promise is that if we keep our eyes fixed on Him, he'll carry us through the Speedwell moments in life.
Thomas Blossom didn't give up on God. He shepherded the flock in Leiden for nine more years before his family eventually came to Plymouth Colony in 1629. He died just four years later in an outbreak of fever, but his legacy didn't die with him. Besides me and many of my cousins in the Mowery family, Blossom's descendants include Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and famous gunslinger Wild Bill Hickock.
If you know me at all, you know that one of my great passions is genealogy. I am fascinated to the point of obsession with discovering more about my family history. Among my ancestors, there are few with as compelling a story as that of my 9th great grandfather (that means great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great) Thomas Blossom.
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| Memorial to Pilgrims buried in Leiden, Holland |
Over the years, the number of Separatists grew, and eventually they made plans to join with others from England and sail to the New World where they could establish a permanent home of their own. For years they saved, prayed, and hoped the right opportunity at the right price would come along. Finally, on August 1st, 1620, thirty-one souls departed Leiden aboard the Speedwell, bound for England where they would join up with a second ship, the Mayflower, before heading to America.
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| Artist's depiction of passengers on the Speedwell |
Have you ever had a Speedwell moment in your life? You plan, maybe for years. You dream of big things. The "moment" arrives when your plans and dreams are about to become reality, and something unexpected happens that derails everything. Something beyond your control. Sound familiar? Probably so. I know I have experienced it. It happens to all of us. It doesn't mean it's Karma or the Wrath of God or anything else. It's not God's fault, and neither is it necessarily ours. It's the product of living in a world that God intended to be perfect but is instead overcome by the disastrous consequences of sin.
God never promised us an easy road without problems. Despite what many people often say, the Bible never says God won't give us more than we can handle. That's a misrepresentation of the Scripture that tells us we will never be tempted beyond what we can bear. In fact, Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome he world." (John 16:33) Instead, what God does promise is that if we keep our eyes fixed on Him, he'll carry us through the Speedwell moments in life.
Thomas Blossom didn't give up on God. He shepherded the flock in Leiden for nine more years before his family eventually came to Plymouth Colony in 1629. He died just four years later in an outbreak of fever, but his legacy didn't die with him. Besides me and many of my cousins in the Mowery family, Blossom's descendants include Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and famous gunslinger Wild Bill Hickock.
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