I come from a traditional family where we were baptised as babies and went to the village church occasionally; my school was a convent where the power of prayer was emphasised. I never doubted that there was a God but never realised that I was a sinner and that Jesus was the Saviour.
In my mid-twenties the (now deceased) evangelist, David Watson, came on a Mission to my local town. My mother, who had become a believer, took me along. His talk convicted me of my sin and how I needed Jesus, so I went forward to give my life to Him at the end of the evening. Since then, my faith has been one of keeping on keeping on, nothing startling but never giving up on it.
After marrying David, I went to an FIEC church where immersion baptism was available. This time it was me who proudly chose to do it.
Our lives were pretty much unchallenged until I was diagnosed with leukaemia and I found myself looking my mortality in the face. I was immensely supported by the church who stood by us as a family but the experience made me realise just how fragile life is. We cannot expect to have any particular length of time in this world. Be grateful for each day – but try to look to what is beyond.
I went into remission for seven years and then at the beginning of this year I discovered that I had relapsed, the cancer had returned. The week before this we heard that our son and daughter-in-law were expecting a second child who had several serious congenital heart defects. Bible verses had such impact and gave great comfort: Psalm 139:16 – “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”. The number of people from all over who prayed for that little one was staggering and sometimes moved us to tears. Prayers have been wonderfully answered in that she is developing normally after successful open heart surgery. God is good and I am learning to accept that he is good even if she had not been healed.
During my treatment I was admitted to hospital with infections on a couple of occasions and at times I felt too weak to even pray but God sent help in the guise of praying friends whose love, kindnesses, messages, apt verses etc raised my spirits and kept me going. I truly felt it was God ministering to me through them.
These days, life is full of uncertainties in every area. We love to plan ahead, but now it is all about waiting. This drums home the fact that we are not in control – but God is. He is sovereign, so even though we may fear, we don’t need to. He has overcome this world.
Hallelujah!
Your response?
If you want to think more about what Christmas should mean, and how to trust in Jesus, we have two resources that might help. The first is a ‘help yourself’ resource called The Four Points. On this website you can listen to four short videos which tell you more about how to come to know Jesus as your saviour. The second is a course you can join – Hope Explored.