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The verse that has meant the most to me is Jeremiah 29.11

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

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‘The verse that has meant the most to me is Jeremiah 29.11. It says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

‘When I first read that, it resonated massively but I couldn’t see what God’s plans were. As a human being, we look around for the obvious signs. But you have to trust God and be satisfied.

‘I had been in senior leadership working for Sainsbury’s. It was a great career, but it didn’t leave a lot of time for other stuff. So, when I turned 50, I took a career break. Then, last year, I co-founded Love Devizes, a Covid-19 support group. It was a response to the pandemic, to help those who were really vulnerable and shielding. Our motto is “Hope is Here”. We have 400 volunteers and since the start of the pandemic we have probably helped 6,300 people.

‘We do all sorts of stuff from doing shopping to taking people to hospital. Loneliness and isolation isn’t a pandemic thing, it’s a real thing that’s always been there. As a Christian, it’s been import to me to show love and empathy.

‘Some of the experiences that I’ve had in the last two years have been more enriching than I have had in my career life. I’ve had a great career, but I’m more interested in what my story is than what my salary is.

‘The verse in Jeremiah is powerful. It says that you are a special individual person. In the last year, I’ve been able to use my skills in situations that before, I would never have been involved in. I would have been on the career trajectory.’

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