I became a Christian when I was eighteen and I can honestly say my life has been transformed. Before I became a Christian I was quite nervous and didn’t have much confidence. There’s no way I’d have been able to stand in front of two hundred children and give a talk, but this is something I can do easily now.
If you’re interested in how I became a Christian please keep reading…
My mum took me and my sister to church when we were young and she was a Sunday School teacher. I was confirmed when I was twelve but then a bad thing happened and I decided to ‘make a deal’ with God. I prayed that he had two weeks to fix it or I would stop believing in him. I know now that you can’t force God to do what you want but at the time I thought you could. When it didn’t happen I stopped praying and quickly fell away. I didn’t believe in him and as the years went by I thought anyone who went to church or believed in God was crazy.
I didn’t have rebellious teenage years, in fact they were very tame. I used to come home and walk my dog after school and watch my local rugby team play at the weekend. Something was missing but I didn’t know what.
I didn’t think about God at all till I was at college and I made friends with a girl called Katie in my English class. Katie was a Christian and went to the Christian Union at college. She invited me to help at a volunteer week in the summer at her church. I said I would but didn’t think any more about it until she rang me a few weeks/months later. I never like letting people down so I went along, reluctantly.
The week was called ‘Youthserve’ and it was held in two churches in Huyton. I helped run a club for kids, picked up litter and did some gardening. Every evening there was an event to go to – the ice cream party was my favourite and I can still remember it clearly. I made some amazing friends and by the end of the week I couldn’t imagine having to say goodbye to them. They all went to St Barts for the 6.30pm service every week so I decided to go along too. After the service there was a club called CYFA for teenagers, run by a fantastic couple called Val and Eddie.
I can’t remember the exact moment when I prayed to Jesus and invited him into my life, it took many months of attending the church for this to happen. I prayed a lot and God started transforming my life. Becoming a Christian has made me so happy, I constantly have a smile on my face and people often comment on the fact that I’m ‘Smiler.’ Lots of things that worried me in the past didn’t worry me any more. I have been given so many opportunities and gifts that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t given my life to Jesus.
I have a big heart for people, especially children in the care system. I want to help people who have low self-esteem, we are all made in God’s image and he has a wonderful plan for our lives. I might write about celebrities but I want children to realise that there is more to life than fame and money. I love giving author talks and teaching my Sunday School class.
Got any questions?
I could have written much more about my journey to becoming a Christian in this blog post but I didn’t want it to be too long. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Why not check out The Alpha website? I did the Alpha course in 2006 when I was studying for my Masters in Cornwall. My home church during my time in Cornwall was Light and Life church in Penzance. When I moved back home to Widnes and got married, my home church became Widnes Baptist Church. We’re only a small church but we’re very welcoming 🙂