I realised God loved me and wanted me back

“I was ten when I met John Davies who was then the minister of Bethel. I knew there was something different about him and his family because there was such a peaceful atmosphere when I was with them. They were great friends and I loved spending time with them. They were kind, a good influence and they took me along to the church.

“At Bethel I remember being taught about how God wants to save us. I remember one particular day at the young people’s meeting when I was twelve-years-old, I was given a piece of paper which said, ‘If I die tonight I will go to h…’ I didn’t want to fill it in. I knew the answer and it frightened me.

“I knew about heaven and hell but that day it really brought it home to me so I prayed asking Jesus to come into my life. I knew I needed him. I started reading my Bible and writing down things I was taught at Bethel.

“It didn’t last long though. For some reason I just stopped going to Bethel. I wanted to do my own thing and I became a bit of wild child – doing what I wanted when I wanted. I wasn’t really thinking about God.

“When I was twenty-one I met Mark and the following year we got married. We were blessed with two wonderful children and when they were young I took them to Bethel’s Sunday School and started going back to the church. I used to hide under my hymn book as we were singing. I was in tears, thinking, ‘What have I done with my life?’

“I realised what a fool I’d been, but I knew God was working in me – he loved me and wanted me back. I started to live for God and not myself, and Mark could see the difference it made in me. I’d finally understood that as Christian you have to walk with God. I’d spent lots of time with different people when I was a teenager but I was on a path to disaster. You can’t walk both paths; it’s one or the other.

“If I had that piece of paper now, I would write ‘heaven’ knowing what God has done for me. I know I’m not good enough to get to heaven on my own, but it’s all about how good Jesus is.”