When I was a child I went to a club at my local Church called Pilots. My family were not Christians and didn’t attend Church although if you were to ask my mum she would say that she did believe in God. I attended Wibsey Pilots from the age of 7 through to my mid-teens when I started co-leading our company. Our Pilot Captain was very influential in my life and helped me to grow in my faith, not that I knew it at the time of course, but looking back I can see her guidance.

When I was in my teens the church we were attending closed down and we moved to Wibsey Methodist Church where I also started going to the Youth Fellowship. Being part of the Methodist Church we attended MAYC weekends and various other events across the country. One such event being organised in Bradford in the early 90s was ‘God in the Park’. Over the course of two or three weeks three big tents were erected in local parks and well known evangelists were invited to give a series of talks. Our Youth Fellowship attended the talks being held in our local park where J John was speaking.

I’d never heard of J John before and didn’t know what to expect, but along we went. I don’t remember much about the talks themselves, but one night during the week, it seemed that whatever he was saying was aimed directly at me, it just made sense. After two or three nights of talks I’d gotten to know the routine. At the end of the night a call would be made so that those who wanted to could go out to the front and give their lives to God and be prayed over. That night was no different, the call went out, but I was scared, I’d never experienced anything like that before and I didn’t know what to expect. I was also sat at the end of the row with all my friends sat next to me and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by standing up and walking out, so I ignored the call that I felt.

I don’t remember what happened after that, but I never forgot the sense of meaning that the evening had in my heart, I never forgot that God had called, never forgot that I’d also turned Him down. Some years later I met my future husband on a joint MAYC/FURY (Methodist Association of Youth Clubs and the Fellowship of United Reformed Youth) weekend away in Liverpool. You could say that it was love at first sight, but that’s a different story! Anyway, when we got back to Bradford Justin and I had started going out with each other and one night we were sat in his house talking and subject of being a Christian came up.

I recounted my story and told Justin that I’d ignored God and had regretted doing so ever since. Justin told me his story and told me that if I wanted to I could accept Jesus Christ into my heart, all we needed to do was say a simple prayer. This we did and we both promptly started crying, but these were tears of joy. I had finally done what I should have done so many years before if only I’d had the courage. I was so happy, I finally felt at peace, I knew that Jesus Christ had entered my life and had forgiven me for ignoring him.

If I had anything to say to people reading this it is that God doesn’t give up. He is patient and will wait for your invitation. If you have ignored his call like I did then it is not too late for you to correct that and ask Him into your life. You won’t regret the decision.