I've always liked Ecclesiastes 1.2

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

‘I've always liked Ecclesiastes 1.2: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher” – even though it's melancholy and depressing, which I am not. 

‘The book talks about how ordinary things are “smoke in the wind”. At the end the writer says you have to obey God; I interpret that as trust God. If God is at the centre, all those daily things are looked after. It's a transient life, but we trust God to guide us through it. 

‘Chapter 3 talks about a time to embrace and a time to refrain, which is where I am in my life – it's a time to refrain from embracing. 

‘My husband is clinically extremely vulnerable – about three months ago he had a kidney transplant. It was very tough but I felt held in God's hands. I knew I had an immense amount of prayer support, and I felt a sense of peace about the situation. That's been very true over the last two years – God has been in the good stuff and the bad. It's been a time to be looked after. 

‘Over the last two years we had nine months watching him deteriorate; then there were 12 months of dialysis that nearly killed him, then his sister donated a kidney. Three months on, he's getting some energy back and looking to go back to work. 

‘He is diabetic now, a side effect of the transplant. That's a daily stress for me, as I've got to worry about food – we can't just grab a takeaway. 

‘We have three children aged 14, 12 and 4. They've been amazing, though they would have liked more freedom. The little one was fine, until one day she burst into tears – my brother came to visit with his five-year-old and she cried when they left and said, “Nobody comes to our house with small people.” But we're a stronger family unit. 

‘I am quite matter-of-fact, but there are crisis points and I do have some anxiety issues now. At times I'm very emotional. There are times of despair, or elation, but I've definitely been sustained by my faith through all this. 

‘Life is like smoke in the wind and I just want to grab it, and love it and then it's gone, and that's fine.’

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