I went
through life believing that there was nothing that God could do for me, my life
was completely how I expected it to be. I lived in my own world, where I was the
only person that I ever cared about. Church was the furthest thing from my mind ever, and then I met a beautiful lady, a
stunning person with great faith and belief in God.
I have always put this kind of faith down, wondering how someone can believe in God when you cannot see Him, and I thought that faith
was all an act.
I then
started attending church with her, but only because I was told to, it was a
case of: "oh well, it's only for an hour or so". Eventually we got married, and I still only attended church because I had to. Then a short time later my life
started on a downward spiral and my marriage was in serious trouble, but I was
determined to do it my way because "no church or unseen God would be able to
help me, it's my life and I control it."
Eventually my marriage was over and I then decided that there was no reason to ever go to church again. I started working weekends as well, which gave me the perfect excuse why I could not attend church. A few years later I was travelling home from work one Sunday evening and I had this strange feeling that I should just pop into the evening mass. To my surprise I enjoyed the singing and decided that I would do it once a month, although I still never listened to anything that was said.
About a year later I saw the Alpha Course advert in the bulletin and I knew that my wife had done this "Alpha thing" before we were divorced and remembered her bringing some of her Alpha friends into our home, and I told her to get the bible huggers out of my sight.
Eventually my marriage was over and I then decided that there was no reason to ever go to church again. I started working weekends as well, which gave me the perfect excuse why I could not attend church. A few years later I was travelling home from work one Sunday evening and I had this strange feeling that I should just pop into the evening mass. To my surprise I enjoyed the singing and decided that I would do it once a month, although I still never listened to anything that was said.
About a year later I saw the Alpha Course advert in the bulletin and I knew that my wife had done this "Alpha thing" before we were divorced and remembered her bringing some of her Alpha friends into our home, and I told her to get the bible huggers out of my sight.
Out of pure
curiosity I walked in on the first night of the course just to see what kind of
people actually do this type of thing. To my surprise they all looked kind of normal, and so I stayed to check it out and left the first night thinking: "I ain't
going back there".
The following Wednesday I thought I should maybe go again and see what it's really like. It was then that the Alpha "staff" made me feel that I belonged there. I haven't found everything I have been searching for, but I have found where I belong, and it is my absolute pleasure to serve on the Alpha committee. God works in mysterious and amazing ways, and I believe that I will find all that I'm searching for.
The following Wednesday I thought I should maybe go again and see what it's really like. It was then that the Alpha "staff" made me feel that I belonged there. I haven't found everything I have been searching for, but I have found where I belong, and it is my absolute pleasure to serve on the Alpha committee. God works in mysterious and amazing ways, and I believe that I will find all that I'm searching for.
Pierre
(Holy Redeemer, Bergvliet)