I was brought up in a Christian home and was always taken to church each week by my parents. From a young age I always used to do a bible reading with my mum and pray with her just before I went to bed. At that time I didn’t believe in God, but I took in quite a lot about him. I was quite willing just to listen and learn from other people, and gradually I began to believe that this God whom I was learning about, had something to say about me. I can’t remember a particular moment in time when I first acknowledged him but I gradually realised that he loved me and cared about my life.

However, for quite a long time, God was someone I talked to at bedtime and then went to sleep and conveniently forgot about until the next night. This suited me quite well, but one night I realised that it was all very well reading the bible and praying, but it didn’t mean much, unless it actually changed the way you lived your life.

Over the years my knowledge of God grew, but he was always a distant God. Although he cared about me, he never seemed to be completely real. I didn’t really believe that he had the power to change anything in my life. Nor did I really have a relationship with him. Going to church became going through the motions. My faith wasn’t really alive – it was a matter of routine.

I had always believed in Jesus in the same way that I believed in God – he was real when I remembered about him, but he wasn’t there all the time. With hindsight I can see that I was missing a huge part of being a Christian. That part was actually knowing Jesus personally. Recently I have begun to get to know Jesus, and to believe for myself that the crucifixion and resurrection aren’t just stories, but that they really happened. I have encountered Jesus for myself and understood for the first time how much he really loves me, and what he went through on the cross, so that my sins would be forgiven. I am so grateful for what Jesus has done for me and I’m grateful that I can say I know him and love him.