life stories
“God’s love will always be more than enough!”
Johanna, 28, Account Manager and member of King's Church Kingston
"I grew up in a Christian family, but it’s fair to say I didn’t do anything about it while I was growing up in my teens and early twenties. My interest in Christianity was stirred again when I visited a Newfrontiers church my parents had started to attend. I had a deep sense that this was a group of people who not just believed, but actively experienced Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I wanted to get to know this dynamic God more. When I moved to Kingston in the Summer of 2008, I looked for a Newfrontiers church and started to attend King’s Church Kingston.
"Throughout all this time, I had a long term non-Christian boyfriend of 8 years who I lived with and intended to marry. One night, on the way home from work, I was reading a chapter from Questions of Life, a book written by Nicky Gumbel, who developed the Alpha Course. As I read, Nicky's words clearly spoke to me: “We have to be prepared to go God’s way and not ours. We have to be willing to give up anything in our lives which we know is wrong, and put things right where restitution is required”. In the same section, he went on to say: “I had a great friend who was sleeping with his girlfriend before he became a Christian. When he began to look at the Christian faith, he realised that this would have to change if he put his faith in Christ”. I realised that if I wanted to be a Christian, I had to be honest and trust in God completely. There and then on the train, I gave my relationship to God and asked that if that’s what he wanted then great, but if not, I was ready to obey.
"Two weeks later, completely out of the blue, my boyfriend told me that I wasn’t the person he wanted to marry or spend the rest of his life with and that our relationship was not going to go anywhere. In a matter of minutes, my whole life had been completely turned upside down.
"However, although I was in shock, it was like God saying: you asked and I’ve answered, now I will look after you! Because of this I gave my life to Jesus. The way that Jesus worked with me, comforted me, guided me and more than anything was a rock for me during those first few months was amazing and showed me that He is absolutely real and living with me now! Jesus’ provision has been amazing and His understanding, love and compassion has been so much more than I could ever have had from my boyfriend and where I relied upon him and got frustrated when he didn’t match up, I know that God’s love will always be more than enough. I once feared I would not be able to cope with breaking up from my boyfriend, that I would be broken, bitter, angry and confused. Instead I experienced a time of real peace and excitement as I’ve grown in my understanding of and relationship with God.
"Over the course of this year God has gradually been revealing his plans for me – He’s helped me to step out in faith, He’s answered numerous prayers and He’s been teaching me to be the kind of person He wants me to be. When I look back at my old life and compare it to the one I have now, I can see a real change, for example in my relationships with my family, in my attitude towards others and my desire to serve and in my attitude towards money and material goods.
"One comment I got from friends I hadn't seen for a while is that I looked much happier and relaxed than before, and they were surprised by that. But they’re right – I know it’s a cliché but I’ve never been happier. For me, becoming a Christian and putting my faith in Jesus was the best thing I’ve ever done!"
