Redeemer Church London member MANDY HUDSON shares her testimony on how God has helped her through tough trials in her life - and why her relationship with Him has given her purpose and meaning.
“I have made, I will bear, even I will carry and will deliver you.” (Isaiah 46:4b)
Mine was a difficult birth. I experienced lack of oxygen which resulted in Cerebral Palsy affecting my left side. The prognosis was bleak. At nine months, my mother was told I would be unable to walk, talk or really be able to understand, progress or learn.
God had blessed my mother with great determination and persistence. She set about a seemingly endless round of physiotherapy, speech therapy, ballet, horse riding and swimming.
I walked at 12 months, jumped waves at the seaside when I was three. At five, I went to the same mainstream school as my brothers. I still couldn’t speak very well, but I enjoyed learning, especially reading.
This is a story of how Jesus has transformed my life. In my family, that revolution began with my eldest brother becoming a Christian. The change in his character was extraordinary. He became much kinder and thoughtful towards his little sister.
When I went to secondary school, I started going to a Christian group my brother attended. I was given a booklet which explained how God had made the world perfect, but we had rebelled and wanted our own way. Sin had ruined our lives and the world. However, God had come into the world as Jesus. He had died on the cross for our sin and made it possible to be made right with God again and find our purpose in life.
There was a prayer at the end of the book which I said. It was the first time I felt the presence of God.
I discovered that Christianity is actually a relationship rather than a religion. My relationship with Jesus developed through long nights of pain as a teenager when my left knee was injured. This was the time God taught me about prayer. I found out prayer is a conversation in which I can pour out my heart to God. My circumstances don’t always change, but he always reassures me.
The years went by. I grew up, took exams, went to York University and I was even fit enough to get around by bicycle!
I’m writing about God’s continuing faithfulness.
God has not chosen to heal me physically but has instead used my disability to help others. I finished university, became a teacher and moved back into my parents’ home for 10 years. During these years I became a disability activist through the inspiration of the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP). God has put me in a unique position to campaign for the rights of disabled people from my own experience.
After completing a master’s degree, I was looking for the next phase of my teaching career. God opened the way for me to move to London. It was then the Bible verse at the top of this story came to my attention.
I began to realise that God had made me just as he wanted me – Cerebral Palsy included. He had borne me up throughout my life so far and would carry and deliver me the rest of the way!
I’d completely underestimated how physically hard I’d find living in London on my own. But no matter what, Jesus was there as my constant companion. This may seem strange to you, that a remote figure who lived thousands of years ago could offer us friendship, but it is true.
Life with Jesus isn’t always an instant cure to all the ills of life. In 2007 I found myself physically and emotionally exhausted once more. I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and had to take 16 weeks off work. There were times when I felt confused, sad and frustrated, as if I was in freefall. I found myself again having to endure long, dark, sleepless nights, this time with whirling anxiety as well as physical pain. Thankfully, slowly, God helped me through. He helped me find a new rhythm of life with more variety. He even helped me to train as a swimming teacher!
I like activity and busyness, but that is physically and emotionally challenging every day. I believe God has continued to use me to campaign for disability rights through a local care co-op. Being a Christian means that I have learnt to see such good causes with a deeper spiritual perspective. My relationship with God gives me purpose and meaning in life.
I have recently retired from 37 years as a classroom teacher. I am so grateful that God has continued to demonstrate His faithfulness by enabling me to continue to work as a swimming teacher. In all the ups and downs of life I am living proof Jesus is my hope. Every day, I am thankful for the breath God has put in me. I pray you will discover that joy too.
