Skip to main content

I started fencing when I was 14

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

'I started fencing when I was 14 and became a coach at 18. When I was 19, I was given a job as a fencing coach working with national coaches, training others and being trained, working in some of the top public schools. I was living in this sport that I had such a passion for, reaching the heights that I had dreamed of and never thought possible.

I was working hard and enjoying it, but there was nothing else. I wasn’t fulfilled. What I thought I wanted wasn’t fulfilling. I was alone and it all felt pointless. So, one night I found myself in my car in a layby between Bath and Shepton Mallet, recalling some verses that I’d read when I was at school: Jeremiah 29.11. '"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you."'

I had just been doing the job. I had not been going to church. I hadn’t been making time for God. Sitting in that layby, I said to God, "I’m really sorry. Can we start again?" I felt a huge hug.

Nothing had changed, but everything had changed in that moment. I found that I could make time for church. I went to a Bible study group on a Wednesday morning. When I started to look and to try to find God, he was there. Underlying all this was a promise that had been made before I searched for it.'

Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected]


More Stories

I went through a period in the pandemic of quite poor mental health

I went through a period in the pandemic of quite poor mental health. I had previously been diagnosed with OCD and general anxiety. They were well-managed, but in the job I was in and with things at home, I became quite poorly...

Yesterday, I became aware that I wasn’t really trusting God and his promises

Yesterday, I became aware that I wasn’t really trusting God and his promises. It’s the everyday things that preoccupy me: financial worries, an elderly mother.

I was raised a non-believing family

I was raised a non-believing family. We scoffed at the idea of there being a God when it was brought up at the CofE primary school I attended.

The Bible has always been important for me

The Bible has always been important for me, and I realised that when I was young. Proverbs 3.5–6 is the ethos of my life

I’m a retired dentist, and about 30 years ago I was involved in a project in Romania

I’m a retired dentist, and about 30 years ago I was involved in a project in Romania, to provide dental care for Romanian orphans and support the local health services. It was a special time. There was so much potential...

The passage that has kept coming up and up in my life is from Psalm 18

‘The passage that has kept coming up and up in my life is from Psalm 18, “He’s my rock, he’s my fortress, he’s my deliverer, in him will I trust”.

Want to share how the Bible has impacted your life? Email [email protected]

Read the Bible icon Read the Bible
Open the full Bible