A verse that's meant a lot to me recently is Matthew 5.14

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

‘A verse that's meant a lot to me recently is Matthew 5.14, “You are the light of the world.”

In July 2021 we were on holiday in Yorkshire – my husband, my son and daughter and my son's friend. 

‘My son, who's 18, became really poorly and we took him to A&E. He'd gone into the room on his own. When he came out we expected him to say, “It's fine, we can go home.” He said, “They want to speak to one of you. They're pretty sure I've had a bleed on the brain.” 

‘I wanted to scream, but I somehow I just prayed and was reasonably calm. They took him off for a brain scan and I went to the loo, and just got on my knees and prayed that whatever happened I'd be there for my son and my husband and that I'd be sustained in some way.

‘I remember hugging him – he was obviously very upset – and saying, “No matter how dark this gets, you're not going to be alone. I will be here.”

‘He was in an isolation room. My husband had to go back to see our daughter, and I just sat down in the car park where I could see his window. Someone came up and asked, “Are you OK?” I said, “My son's up there and he's really struggling.” He said, “I'm the security guy, do you want me to get you a chair?” 

‘He's still in recovery four months later and has a continuous really bad headache. His faith has been really challenged and it's grown. 

‘It's been a really tough time, but also a time of growing in faith. The love from our church family has been absolutely amazing. 

‘There's a lot my son can't do because he's very anxious. He's struggled to leave the house on his own. He said, “Mum, my life's pretty boring, but it was pretty boring before and I didn't realise it. I don't want it to be the same, I want to be somebody better.”

‘He knows he'll recover and each day he advances a bit more. He's changing about who he wants to be – he's even signed up to be a mentor for an addiction charity. He's a really good guy, but he'd never have done that before. 

‘Blessings come in unusual guises.’

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