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Moving to Purley 11 years ago, gave me the opportunity to visit the church on a regular basis, by attending Purleytots sessions. Going into a church for a religious service was not a normal experience for me, but going to the building for Purleytots, seemed to make it more human, there were glimpses of its life and members, and I felt a real need to go and see.
I had on occasions thought about God, but continued to rely on my own efforts to find even more in life than I had already. At times, I had thought this might come through worldly opportunities or even changing my living arrangements. I was not brought up to go to church and did not realise the obvious solution, that only the Creator of the world - ie. God, had a care for His creation, and would hold the masterplan for those who wanted to turn back towards Him. In time, through hearing and study of Scripture, I gradually realised that much of what I thought might be made-up stories, were not only in many cases factually-based, but also were telling us something about our separateness from God. It was our way of life that kept us apart and never truly satisfied. Now we could receive a new "spiritual life", through belief in His Son, and turning away from our old selves. A quote from the Bible said, "a man must lose his life to gain another." To lose one's life seemed to be the very opposite of having the successful life we all craved. It seemed a strange thought that this was what it took - a letting go of self, and allowing the power of another life, to gradually unfold a new way of living. In doing so, I began to see many things differently. It is not always easy to let go of self and allow the power of another life to take control, and change can take time. But the first step is the hardest, and dared to try - dare you? You might be surprised at the result! Published in Purley Parish News, June 2000 |
