1 Kings 8:60 “That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.”
The diversity of the Caribbean islands always amazes me! Although the indigenous history of the islands is similar, the countries that eventually colonized them differed greatly. St. Kitts was fought over by the Spanish, British, and French, but the British and French eventually shared the island in the early 1600s, with Britain eventually taking full control later.
Known for its sugar, St. Kitts’ economy depended on sugar cane until recently, when it no longer became profitable to produced sugar. Now, tourism is the backbone of the economy. On our recent excursions, heat and humidity have been our constant companions, so I finally got wise and brought a cloth and a sweatband! Yoohoo! I was ready to go! By the time we got back to the ship, my sweat band was soaked, but I had a great day!
We visited Romney Manor, once owned by an ancestor of Thomas Jefferson. This estate was beautiful! Surrounded by rainforest, the estate had a plethora of colorful flowers and lush green plants. We strolled around the grounds, enjoying the tropical garden and the shade of a 400-year-old saman tree, whose canopy covered 2/3 of an acre! An added treat was visiting the batik fabric crafts factory on the grounds where we watched a woman make the designs as she explained the process of creating the materials.
Afterwards, we went to the Brimstone Hill Fortress, which is the largest fort in the Caribbean. It was quite a climb to the fort itself. Probably due more to the heat and humidity, but by the time I got to the grounds of the main part of the fort, my muscles were protesting! However, I wasn’t going to quit! I had a fort to explore with John! Cannons were all around, and we were able to roam around checking out the old barracks, ammunition rooms, and officers’ quarters. I found it quite interesting that we could climb all over this multi-leveled fort and there wasn’t a single protective rail on the upper levels! If you weren’t paying attention, it would be a very long drop!
Being at the fortress and hearing about the battles between the French and British for the island reminded me that our battle as Christians is not against a mortal enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We must be equipped at all times in the full armor of God to fight our adversary, for Satan is formidable and seeks to destroy anyone who loves the Lord. As God’s Word tells us in 1 Peter 5:8, “… the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Therefore, I must be battle-ready at all times, so that no matter what I face in this life, with Christ, I can “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Next stop: St. Lucia