Being brought up in a Christian family, with my dad being a vicar, meant going to church every Sunday was just normal for me. I was taught all the basics – about God and the bible – and learnt to 'believe' in him, but that was pretty much all I thought there was to being a Christian. At the age of 6 I said a prayer that supposedly ‘invited Jesus into my life’ but this didn’t seem to make any difference to me – I still didn’t fully understand it and continued to drift on through the early years of my life. Everything was pretty ‘normal’ and my life no different from anyone else’s really.

It wasn’t until the age of 14 when things finally changed as I realised what was missing from my life. After hearing some great talks and inspirational stories from Christian speakers, Jesus’ teachings suddenly started to make complete sense as I began to understand the true purpose behind the gospels. I found myself filled with God’s spirit which gave me a brand new joy never experienced before, and a confidence to really live out what I now truly believed. I knew that God was always with me and that through him, I could do anything.

After this, life seemed so different- I had an actual relationship with God! And I just felt so happy. I also realised the meaning of sin and that that I was indeed a sinner – through selfishness and greed, but as a result, started to understand what it really means to be forgiven - and that is the most amazing thing. Going to church made so much more sense after this and I began reading more of my bible, eager to learn more of God’s word. Since then, I have learnt much more about being a Christian with a desire to live it out and, as a result, my faith and relationship with God has grown stronger.

However, this relationship has not always been perfect. Of course there have been many times where I have gone my own way – many distractions, doubts and temptations have at times led me astray and left me feeling distant from God. But he has always drawn me back to him and helped me learn through my mistakes, each time making my faith stronger.

God has done so many great things in my life. He has helped me through tough times and answered so many prayers - even the small everyday things. At times when I have been greatly stressed I learnt to give all my worry over to him and as a result felt complete peace and joy in the midst of all that was going on - and that is simply incredible! In Jesus I find joy, peace, security and never failing love. I have a relationship with an awesome God who loves me and knows me inside out and that is all I could ever ask for!