Skip to main content

My dad died when I was 19

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

Previous Next

‘My dad died when I was 19. He got ill the week I went to uni and died the week after the first year. It was crazy. You don’t think you’re going to be in that situation. 

‘After that, I felt that I had a decision to make. I could either dive headfirst into faith, or think, “My dad didn’t deserve that” and run away. 

‘Psalm 1 helped make that decision. It says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

‘My dad was like that. I don’t have any bad memories. I can’t picture him not being steady. He was calm and peaceful.

‘So, I committed to do this [read the Bible] every day and chose to start my day with this, being intentional and rooting myself in this. 

‘It’s changed over the years. I’ve got into the rhythm of having the Old Testament and the New Testament on the go. Sometimes there can be weeks when I’m not reading the Bible and then I come back to this psalm and realise that things don’t feel so steady. 

‘My dad was a great role model. I had the best possible 19 years with him. I think he would say that I was on the right track by reading the Bible and keeping myself steady.’

More Stories

My wife and I were told we’d likely never have children

My wife and I were told we’d likely never have children – even if we went through certain procedures. I was born with a “defect”, and after both of us went through some tests, I discovered I had one or two other issues...

I was furious. I had just come back from being interviewed by a college

‘I was furious. I had just come back from being interviewed by a college with a view to being trained to be a Baptist minister. The last thing my minister had said to me before I left was, “The one thing they won’t ask...

I became very ill when I was 20 years old and was hospitalised

I became very ill when I was 20 years old and was hospitalised, nil-by-mouth, on a morphine drip, etc. This illness led to me being in and out of hospital for the next year or so. At that time I wasn’t a Christian but my...

I’m sometimes guilty of thinking I know better than everyone else

I’m sometimes guilty of thinking I know better than everyone else. That mindset often extends to thinking I know what I need better than God. When my wife and I were moving house, I found that I tried too often to force...

I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly.

I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly. He was a lovely man, and I went to his memorial service. We sang, “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name...

I keep coming back to John 6.67–68

I keep coming back to John 6.67–68 where Jesus has been teaching and people are finding it hard to understand and lots of his peripheral followers are falling away.

Want to share how the Bible has impacted your life? Email [email protected]

Read the Bible icon Read the Bible