"Covering Your Coquina" -- How to Withstand an Enemy Attack

My daughter Julia and her boyfriend Alex drove up to St. Augustine yesterday for a daytrip.  I haven't talked to her about how their trip went, but I was talking to them at Sunday dinner and told them something I had learned on a visit many years ago to the fort there. 

One thing that interested me about the Castillo de San Marcos was when the guide related that during a bombardment, the British attackers, situated on an island across the river, had to aim their cannons continuously at the same spot to have any hope of breaking through the tough plaster-covered coquina. Once they broke through the white plaster, the darker bare spot became their visible target. Fortunately for the Spanish, the British would cease firing at night so they could rest. Then the Spanish, under cover of darkness, would scale their own fort’s walls and apply new plaster, making the weak spot disappear. The British eventually gave up! It struck me (pardon the pun) that we all have weak spots spiritually. Those who have received forgiveness from God, through trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus, are covered with his righteousness. But sometimes it seems that a hypocritical hole is blown right through our faith. Rather than wallow in guilt and let Satan keep taking fire at our vulnerable areas, we need to daily be re-covered and hidden in Christ’s protecting grace.

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles