Jamestown, Birthplace of the United States

Where is Jamestown, what happened there, and why is it important to my life? These were questions that I had when I heard that my family would be attending the Jamestown Quadricentennial celebration. While standing on the ground where the heroes of Jamestown - John Smith, Pocahontas and John Rolfe - stood and lived, I had all these questions answered through stories and reenactments.

Jamestown is not what I had expected, based on what I had heard it was...full of lazy, greedy people seeking riches and popularity, but most were actually Christians striving to further God’s kingdom in the New World. Founded in 1607, the colony declined in population and strength over the next few years until it reached such a bad “starving time” that it caused the inhabitants to give up and embark for home. Many of the original settlers had wanted to blot out this dismal colony, which had taken numerous lives, by burning it to the ground as they departed. After a few men resisted this idea, they agreed to just leave and let it be. They anchored at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay that night, before leaving for England in the morning. When the next day dawned, they were met by another group of settlers with several ships full of supplies, giving them a “second wind.” Because the providential hand of God had intervened, there was a colony for them to return to, and Jamestown went on to become the first successful settlement in the New World.

This story, as well as many others about Jamestown, gave me a completely new outlook on how God truly did guide our nation’s history. Saved not only by this incident, but also several others, Jamestown became the birthplace of a Christian nation, the United States of America, of which I am now blessed to be a part. God makes no mistakes and His providence did, does now, and will continue to affect the course of history in accordance with His will and to His glory!

Max Clark, Age 15