My decision to join the “Alpha experience” has certainly been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life thus far. I say experience because that’s what I was searching for, an experience to find ways and knowledge of how I could be closer with God, and I found so many ways during the past few weeks.
I have been so busy with my involvement in other organisations in the evenings leading up to the start of this experience and when I saw that we would meet on Wednesdays, I was somewhat concerned as I had to sacrifice my other Wednesday meetings if I was to go in search of God. In hindsight, I did not sacrifice anything, in fact I found something so much bigger, more valuable, satisfying, rewarding and enriching for my body and soul.
At the first evening, the 3 components of the gatherings were explained, viz: the meal, the talk and/or dvd with praise and worship and then the group sessions. Initially, and with some scepticism, I was trying to understand the structure of the evenings but after the 3rd week I was convinced it was structured for me. Let me explain why:
· I love the company of others and with the rush of work life, sitting down and talking was a very rare thing when having supper at home, in fact it was always a case of “eat when you get home” and everyone else did the same thing. Therefore sitting down with my fellow Alpha participants on a Wednesday and playing “catch up” on the day and week, whilst having a meal has reminded me of how important it is that we do this as a family. I will certainly be trying to do this more and more and in the process spend quality time with whoever is at home at supper tim,e but also do it at breakfast if it’s more practical.·
I love singing in general (let it be said I don’t have a good voice) and always found that far too few people participate in singing during weekly church services. But Kurt has sparked such a flame in all of us that praising God through singing and music can be so beautiful and uplifting at the same time. My voice in church is now even louder. I don’t think I need to remind you of how valuable and precious listening and sharing with others has been for me. I hope I didn’t speak too much but I was inspired by both what others were sharing as well as what I was experiencing week by week in-between our meetings.
As the weeks passed so quickly, our Holy Spirit weekend dawned on us. I attended this week-end with great expectations but without knowing what to expect. WOW, WOW, WOW. PRAISE GOD!!!
We sang and prayed, we shared, I was again enlightened by listening to Nicky Gumbel speak with so much love for God through his own personal experiences and his references to the Bible.
Going up for prayer was one of the easiest decisions although it was my first time to receive such personal prayer from someone. I wasn’t hoping for “shattering windows” or for the earth to move but I can say that the HOLY SPIRIT came alive within me.
You and the team conducted the week-end with such professionalism and always took everyone into account.
The two weeks that have passed since the Holy Spirit week-end has been testament to that. I have never felt such calmness within me as I felt on the Sunday we left, but even more amazing is that I still feel it daily. The comments from family and work colleagues confirm this daily and I thank God for the blessing of the Holy Spirit in my life. What’s even more remarkable is that daily I experience evidence of His presence and it’s like my “spiritual eyes” have been opened to see how God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, manifests HIMSELF in my daily life.
I cannot resist sharing my experience with others but at the same time I have to reel myself in so as not to come across as a ‘freak” of sorts.
Wednesday nights at Alpha is where I am able to share all my experiences with others and it’s amazing how understanding everyone is. My jokes and comments, shared with everyone I encounter daily, have somehow toned down automatically as I am so much more sensitised to the feelings of others but also being so aware of God’s presence in my life I don’t want to offend HIM in anyway.
Making and taking time to pray was always on an ad hoc basis. The past few weeks has both reminded me and taught me how important prayer is in developing a relationship with God. I continue to learn how to do this as I experience His amazing love and grace daily.
In conclusion, I want to thank you and the team as well as all the delegates who have been attending the past few weeks. The care and love shown by all has added so much value to my experience and I look forward to always “hugging” my new family.
I found so much more value to worshipping God than just the every Sunday Mass I’ve been attending. In fact Alpha has added spiritual value whilst attending Holy Mass.
God Bless: Nathan