Christ Church Moreton Hall

Sometimes, when life isn’t going the way it should, God puts a speed bump in the road to slow you down and make you think. Then sometimes, if that doesn’t work, he uses a road block.

Back in 2002 I hit a road block. Over many years working in big corporations I had often struggled with stress-related illness but usually managed to cope. On October 1, 2002, that changed and life came, almost, to a complete halt.

Of course the natural thing to do is to ‘get back’ to what you were before, to somehow prove yourself as capable, strong enough. For the next four years I fought that battle, but at the beginning of 2007 more speed bumps were coming. My wife Vanessa and I had to think this through, and work out how to move on supporting my wonderful family and yet not putting my health at more risk.

So I left the corporate life with the regular salary and the pressure, and took up a new life as a taxi driver; different pressures, manageable pressures, but no more regular income. I now have my own car (if you are in the Bury area it’s the blue 307 with the fish label on the back) and we are really trusting in God for His provision that this works out for us, be it in the short or the long term.

The move was mainly motivated by self-preservation, but now I see how much our Lord is using this to open my eyes, to see the things I could not see before. It is as if I am catching up for those missing years. He has placed me with a company that do far more than just the routine work. On my first full day I found myself in the cancer ward in Addenbrookes hospital, collecting drugs and I could almost hear a voice saying ‘So you keep telling people to take prayer out of church and home and into the world. Now is your chance!’ I have been given the opportunity to take prayer and what compassion I can give to hospitals, schools, prisons, care homes.

Last Thursday I sat outside a special needs school in the town, with a few minutes to wait while the passenger escort collected our kids to deliver home. As I prayed I was so very aware of the love Jesus has for the kids I saw, kids with all manner of problems; He loves them so very much.

There are so many hurting people out there. Folks who’s only refuge from this world is in drink, or drugs, or prostitutes. People who are afraid as they go to hospital, or as they await test results. There are also so any people who think they have it all, but what they have is so shallow and temporary. He loves them all too.

I am often asked what my main vision is for outreach. It is simply this, that all of us who know we are loved by the Lord Jesus Christ offer all that we are, strengths and weaknesses, to Him each day, so that we might be shown ways of bringing that love into the lives of those we meet. We should earnestly seek the gifts and talents we need to make a difference in this land, and be prepared to use them, in Jesus’ name.

Do this, and you might be surprised where it leads.

But of course we also need to show those around us how much fun and rewarding our faith can be. Have a barbeque for your neighbours this summer, make friends, bring them along to an event of some kind.

With this last piece in mind I am delighted to announce a forthcoming event at Christ Church. On Friday October 12 Cathy Burton and Dan Wheeler will be bringing their outstanding musical talents to Bury. Cathy has recently returned from appearing at Glastonbury with her band Hummingbird, and is doing a solo acoustic tour with Dan this autumn. More details will follow, so please keep an eye on this website.

Wishing you every blessing over the summer.

Steve