‘I moved around a lot as a kid with my dad being a vicar: Zimbabwe, Sheffield, Bristol. As a result, I had a problem with social anxiety and making friends.

‘I was 14 or 15 years old and had been in the school for about 18 months and I’d got to the stage where I found it very difficult to talk to people and have meaningful friendships. I felt like I had a lump in my throat every day and I couldn’t speak. I was quiet as a mouse, which wasn’t my personality. I would be coming home and just crying because I would want to be social and not be able to execute it.

‘This went on for months and months. I came home one day and burst into tears and opened the Bible at Job 23.10 which says, ‘But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold’.

‘The focus for me was on the idea of coming through a trial. That was a revelation for me. Even though I was going through a dark time, I felt that my character would be formed by it. I would be a gold person! That was incredibly moving.

‘That summer I was filled with the Holy Spirit at the New Wine festival and my love for Scripture multiplied. Coming back after that for Year 11, I felt very comfortable in my own skin. I was more confident talking to people. I didn’t become the most popular kid in school immediately, but I felt like I didn’t have one arm tied behind my back. I was able to do what everyone else could do.

‘That text has been absolutely huge for me. It’s helped me to have a lot of compassion for not only myself, but for others as well. When you are in need and vulnerable, you need the strong to invite you in and for those who don’t have the lump in their throat to be able to talk to you and extend a hand. That’s why I have a big heart for those who are on the margins now.’

Do you have a story to share? Email mybible@biblesociety.org.uk

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