I am married and was just 15 when me and my wife Lindsey met, it was at school. I have to say she is such a wonderful wife and mother, we got married in 2008 and went on to have our first child Isaac in 2011 and then Ethan 2014, God and my family are everything to me. Growing up I can’t say that I grew up in a Christian family, and that I was surrounded by Godly people and the church from the very beginning.
But I was raised with a knowledge of who Jesus our Lord is, this is because throughout my childhood I was always made aware of the man of Jesus, I would read a book, my Dad had got for me called the book of bible stories which it had in it most of the stories from the bible. I was not that old when my Dad told me about God probably 3 or 4 yrs old, I thank my Mum and dad for all they have done for me throughout my life. I loved it at Easter time in our house watching the films about Jesus. It’s such a shame these days that no one talks about the real meaning of Easter, it’s as though society has turned its back on Christianity! But not all, because people still are being converted to this very day look at Christine and me we are a work in progress with a passion for the living God!!
When I say passion it’s a passion to know about the living God! I was always intrigued as a child to know how Jesus, who seemed just an ordinary man would be able to perform such miracles like turn water into wine, heal lepers, make the blind see, raise the dead back to life and all the other miracles he did and is still doing.
As a child I did not attend church on a regular basis but when I did I would always feel a connection between God and myself I think this is because having read about Moses and the Ten Commandments, Jesus and much of the other scriptures, I knew that God wanted me to understand how just he is and how loving he is, having made us in his image, and that no matter what happens, I should try to obey him. Only being a child it felt like a mountain to climb, so I would always go back to my sinful ways doing all kinds of wrong things. Whilst Growing up family life was not the easiest but you just got on with it, I would see all kinds of things going on in other people’s lives as well as my own having come from a big family I.e people falling out and becoming jealous of each other, people moving away, people emigrating, people dying through old age or illness, and other things etc.
At 20 years old I joined the Fireservice and have done 14yrs this coming June, I met Gary about 10years ago but have only got to know him properly these last few years. I remember Gaz asking me if I went to church and I said not really on a regular basis but I do go and him saying that there is no better way to serve and praise God, than with and amongst his people and it is so so true. Finding meaning and purpose to life As I got older I found that I kept seeing people come into my life and leave my life through death, fallouts, moving away etc. Its only when I had my first child that I thought really deep about purpose and meaning to my existence and this is when God became part of my life!!
He as always been part of my life but at this point I was made able to see from being blind. Before I came to accept God into my life I was distant from God whether that was through my friends, relationships or things of no significance, I generally put my whole heart into other things, things other than God, I also became very fixated on myself and what people thought of me. I became very consumed with what people thought of me and was living for the acceptance of the world. At points in my life I felt that I kept losing and losing which made me feel afraid, at these points God drew me near to Himself.
But I was unsure what to do. Deep down I knew that He could save me if I just let Him. When my first child Isaac came into the world because God had aloud him through his creation I then realised that to have creation you need a creator I never really looked at things in such deep and meaningful ways, it was not long after that I confessed to the Lord that I am a sinner and that I was trying to find life in other people, things and myself.
I acknowledge everyday that He sent Jesus to die on the cross so that I can be saved from my sin and have eternal life. I am committed to living for God instead of others. This is because if it was not for Gods grand plan then i would not be able to serve others.
