EVA
"I grew up in a Christian home surrounded by faith and truth, but at 18 I made the choice to let go of God's hand and follow my own path. I met my future husband, a non believer, and we eventually married. We were blessed with two beautiful children, but life wasn't without its challenges. One of our children suffered with asthma so severe that monthly hospital visits became our norm. Each episode would see us spending several days in the hospital, watching helplessly as the medical team worked to ease his breathing and stabilize him. They had to hold him down and put a shunt in his tiny arm which broke my heart as a Mother, as I listened to his screams. But he knew this was the place to help him and would say hos-tibal Mummy when he struggled to breathe. Thankfully as he matured the asthma abated.
"We looked at a potential house to purchase with a balcony on the upper deck. The railing was on an angle and I heard my Mother who was with us tell my son to get down from the railing. He went to put his little foot on the next rail but fell straight through it. He fell 3.5 meters (11 feet) down onto asphalt. The ambulance came and he was examined for fractures and concussion at hospital, but apart from bruising, was remarkably unhurt. God protected him.
"Even though I was not walking with the Lord at that time and felt I l had let go of His hand, He never let go of mine. He remained faithful, holding onto me even when I didn't realise He was there. Many people were praying for me to come back to the Lord. When the children were five my husband gave his permission for me to take them to church and Sunday school. One Sunday during a service, I was deeply moved by the message. My heart softened and I found myself seeking forgiveness. In that moment I was filled with the Holy Spirit, Baptised in His presence and my life was changed forever.
"My son, as a teenager was driving with a friend when the car veered off the road, crashed over a stone wall and tumbled over rocks beside the sea. They landed upside down in seawater. Miraculously neither of them was hurt!
"Seventeen years ago while living in London, I underwent a triple bypass operation. Although hospital procedures were not new to me, God was gracious and held me close once more. Three arteries were blocked and I had pain in my chest and fatigue. God provided for me in every way: enough money to pay my rent while I recovered, food, money for airfares from New Zealand for my son to come and look after me. Before the medical team took me into theater, I lay praying and declared God's promise 'though he slay me, yet will I trust Him'(Job 13:15) I woke 5 hours later after a successful operation, surrounded by my caring family. Being allergic to morphine I had to manage the pain with only paracetamol and by Gods grace I survived. During my time in hospital recovery, a woman in a bed near me, who had the same operation on the same day as me, passed away. It was a sobering reminder that not everyone survives. In the midst of it all, God spoke to me 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness' (2 Corinthians 12:9) God is my everything, my strength, my hope, my life.
Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'.
"I've hung onto these two scriptures all my life. Woven through every chapter, they've anchored me in every storm and reminded me it is God who holds all things together".