Clare is down this week, so finally we are getting to spend some time together! So todays post is a bit of a cheat. Two weeks ago we had a divisional meeting (service) and I had to give my testimony.
That made me wonder if I had told my whole story on this blog. Which I don't think I have yet. So here is my testimony!
Some of you
know me, and some of you don't, so I didn't know exactly what to include in my
testimony, but for those of you who don't know me I decided to start from the
beginning.
I grew up in
Falmouth Corps, where all my family attended, Yet at around the age of 14 like
many young people of my generation I left the Army.
At 16 I
joined the Royal Navy and quickly fell into bad habits. Smoking, drinking and
girls were the main things that interested me. And I spent almost all my time
not at work perusing these things.
As is the
culture in the Forces if I was not at work I could be found down one of the
pubs in town with the lads.
At 19 I got
a girl pregnant and decided I should do the right thing as I thought and marry
her. Getting married for all these wrong reasons ended in disaster and a nasty
and painful divorce.
This all
left me very bitter, twisted and angry. Now all I wanted to do was go out get
drunk.
I was loaned
to the Royal Marines and then the Army and ended up spending a lot of time out
in Iraq.
I found that
when I got home I struggled to cope with all the things I had seen and all that
had happened. I struggled to sleep without nightmares so to sleep I would drink
every night until I basically passed out drunk.
But this was
a vicious destructive cycle and the more I drank the worse I felt and so the
more I drank.
I went on a
course in Portsmouth and when there I got into contact with a group of guys
called the Naval Christian Fellowship.
It turned
out that they would meet up once a week at the house of a guy called Steve, who
lived just up the road from my camp. So I started hanging out with these guys
every week and at weekends. I even started going to Church with them.
I went with them to Momentum in 2010 and one
evening decided now was the time to make a decision. I could not be a Christian
half heartedly anymore, I either fully gave my life to Christ or I stopped
playing at being a Christian. So I went to the front and asked Christ to
forgive my sins and fill me with the Holy Spirit to empower me to change my
life in the ways that I needed to.
There was no
massive flash of light, no road to Damascus moment. And there was no instant
change in my life, I didn't instantly become perfect, and I am still far from
it now. But what did change was my desire to change, and the effort I put in to
being a better follower of Jesus.
I continued to hang out with the NCF guys and
to go to church with them, but I still did not feel at home in the churches we
went to. When in Feb 2011 I got drafted to RNAS Culdrose I returned to Falmouth
Corps again. I found that I fitted right back in and felt I was back at home
and where God wanted me to be.
I became an
Adherent member early in 2011, I wanted to be a Soldier, however I felt that my
life in the RN was not compatible with Salvation Army Soldiership. As the year
went on I spent a lot of time in prayer and thought. I came to the decision
that there was nothing stopping me becoming a Soldier in the SA except myself.
Yes there
would be major aspects of my work and social life that I would have to change
but that would not be impossible, just hard! In January 2012 I became a Soldier
in The Salvation Army.
But I knew
being a Soldier in the Army was not all God wanted from me, as much as I felt
called to be a Soldier I felt called to officership. So in the past year I have
applied to leave the Royal Navy and started the process to try to become a
Salvation Army Officer.
This has
been a massive leap of faith, leaving a job I love and one which I thought I
would do until I retired. Many people, especially friends at work think that I
am crazy.
And I have
to admit there have been a few occasions when I have thought that about myself!
But over the past few years no matter how much I have tried to ignore God and
his calling or make excuses or put it off it has just not gone away.
There have
been many challenges in the candidates process already, most of which have come
from the Navy. However every time there has been a problem and I have been
worried God has found a way around it or a solution to the problem.
I stand here
today as proof of how God can change our lives. How when we trust in him and
accept him into our hearts he can change everything in our lives.
How when you
put aside your fears and stop making excuses and follow his plan for you he
will move all obstacles in your way.
It's not a
guarantee of an easy life, in fact it's a lot harder. But if it is God's plan
he will find a way and make it happen.
So to end my
testimony today I would like to challenge you and ask;
what is God
telling you he wants you to do today?
The Sailing Salvationist
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