From the Heart

“I used to be a very aggressive man. I had a terrible temper”. Havering Christian Fellowship interviewer Pete Merry finds it hard to believe that the amiable, softly spoken man sitting opposite him had uttered these words. He stirred his cappuccino thoughtfully. “I behaved very selfishly, and used to swear just about every other word”.

Dave was about to catch the train to go to work. He has worked as a photographer for many years, and his job has brought him into contact with the rich and famous. “I’ve worked for the Queen,” he said matter-of-factly, “the Duke of Westminster, Aristotle Onasis and the Queen of Jordan”.

Dave used to run his own photographic studio in the West End, employing 22 people as well as free-lancers. “I was a workaholic, really”, he reflects. “I would often work 16-18 hours a day, sometimes not coming home for days on end”.

It was hard going for his wife, Sheena, struggling to bring up two girls. “We’d had a good relationship, but things had come to a head”.

Sheena had been a Christian for several years, and regularly prayed for Dave. “I didn’t have any faith” he confesses, “even though I’d been to Sunday School as a boy and we’d had the girls christened at church”.

So what happened? “Sheena attended a local church and I was invited to one of their special weekend conferences. I didn’t want to go but I suppose guilt got the better of me”.

Dave also got more than he had bargained for during the course of the weekend . “I remember simply saying, 'God, if you’re really there, show yourself to me'. All I can say is that I felt a real peace come over me, something I had never experienced before”.

That day God turned up, and Dave’s life changed. “I stopped swearing and being so aggressive. I had driven to the conference at 95mph but drove back at 65! I changed so much that the guys at work were worried and kept asking if I was alright. They were wondering why I wasn’t throwing things across the studio”.

Being a Christian has made all the difference to Dave’s life, but it hasn’t been an easy ride. “The business ended up owing a lot of money, and at any time the banks could have foreclosed on us. I had to learn to trust God every step of the way”.

God has proved himself to be trustworthy, says Dave. “He has blessed me in so many ways. Life has taken on new meaning. I have a great family and I know that whatever situation I find myself in God is in there with me helping me cope”.