I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should at the time, but I was brought up in a Christian home. I knew that I needed to put my trust in Jesus, but was reluctant to take that step as I knew my life would change and I didn’t want it to.
When I was 14 I went on an Evangelical Movement of Wales camp. At the start of the week I prayed that if God was real and He wanted me He would make that clear. Later on in the week through the messages I heard, I knew that I had to put my trust in Jesus and in that field in Wales I did and I have never regretted it. It’s great to know that God loves you and that you will be with Him forever.
Moving away from home to university was a make or break time. Without the watchful eye of my parents it would have been all too easy to go with the crowd and turn away from God. But God gave me the strength to trust in him and it was a time of spiritual growth as I learned to trust in God and serve Him because I wanted to, not just to please those around me. University was also the time when I met Helen and I am so thankful to God for her.
Helen and I got married shortly after we graduated and lived in Glasgow for a few months. Somehow we ended up in Larbert. We prayed that God would guide us to the right house in the right place but didn’t put a great deal of planning into it. Thankfully God did and we can see the way that He planned a place for us here. He has looked after us and given us a lovely son, Joseph.
Recently I have been reading John’s Gospel and have been challenged by how much God loves me and the security I have in that. Do I really trust in that love enough to step out of my comfort zone? Do I rest in that love and experience the joy and the peace that God gives? The answer to both these questions is ‘not as much as I should’, but I know that now, as he has always done God loves me so much and is graciously patient with me.
