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Story of Elizabeth
I came from an Anglican background. Both of my grandfathers
and their fathers before them were Anglican Vicars and my
parents were both Anglicans; the God I grew up with was rather
an awesome and distant one. However, as a child I remember
being very moved by nature and seeing God in all of nature
and creation. There were times when I turned to God in my
late teens and early twenties. The death of my father when
I was eighteen was very traumatising; as well as a broken
relationship at twenty one. But there was no 'churchgoing'
at that time and I was well and truly 'lost' for the next
two years and very unhappy, with only an occasional prayer
if there was a problem!
God is good and at twenty three, he brought me Liam. Four years
later we were married in Kensington Registry office and that was
thirty eight years ago. After marriage our son Peter was born. There
was a problem with his birth and the doctor told us it had been
a 'million to one' chance that he had survived. I remember thanking
God for our miracle baby. Then we had our daughter Serena and that
was the icing on the cake for us. I began to think about church
during our years living in London. Then we moved to Cardiff with
Liam's job.
The desire to go to Church grew and I made the decision to go to
the Anglican services in Christchurch in Radyr once a month! After
a while (as happens in life unexpectedly) we went through a very
difficult period as a family and I wanted to pray for us. The only
prayer I knew was 'The Lords Prayer' instilled from childhood, so
I prayed this every night for the next three years. No answer to
prayer came for all that time.
Then one day, we had a phone call from London! Liam's sister who
had become born again in Australia wanted to visit us on her way
to the Holy Land of Israel. As a newly converted Christian, she
was completely over the top with enthusiasm! We were force fed with
her baptism and preaching tapes for the next few days, even on a
beautiful sightseeing trip around the Mumbles!!
To be polite (and not understanding much) I accompanied her to
Wellfield Christian Fellowship run by Roger and Helen Cook. They
took me under their wing and showed me a loving, caring God and
the true meaning of worship. All the pain of the past spilled out
in emotional tears at meetings over the next two years. Then Roger
suggested that I should get baptised. More was to follow after my
baptism in the following months - a real test of faith! One of my
sisters died suddenly and tragically, then our step father passed
away three months later and then I was diagnosed with breast cancer
and had to undergo radical surgery.
Throughout that time I really felt the strength of God's love and
support demonstrated in so many ways and could see his hand on our
family lives. I recognised the power of prayer and the importance
of a close daily walk with Him. It was the only stable reality to
hold onto and see us through the devastating circumstances. That
was fourteen years ago!
Now I've learned to turn to God first in every circumstance. My
faith has grown and strengthed and its the happiest time of my life.
I've learned that through steadfast faith and the Word of God, we
can be comforted, healed and strengthened then blessed.
I've been coming to Danescourt Christian Fellowship for twelve
to thirteen years now. I have many people to thank for their love
and support during that time and it's a joy to see God's church
growing year on year in Danescourt. Praise God and thankyou.
Elizabeth
This testimony was given on Sunday 16th of April 2006 at the morning
service of Danescourt Christian Fellowship
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