My testimony - Mandy Hudson

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.

'Take this opportunity to read more......'

As you will no doubt be aware, the recent covid-19 outbreak has changed everyone’s lives to a greater and a lesser extent. As a church we know that many members of our family will be self-isolating, working from home, or practicing social distancing over the coming weeks. We are hoping that through a series of blogs we can encourage you, and others who might be reading these blogs, to fix your eyes on Jesus, and respond to the crisis in a way which honours his will for our lives.

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One of my new year’s resolutions this year was to read more, and given that I am currently consigned to my house for the near future, I am hoping not to turn to the nearest screen and see how much of Netflix’s back catalogue I can get through, but instead to actually act on my resolution!

This has not been as easy as I thought, as there is still lots going on in my life, and many things I need to be doing to make sure church still happens (albeit online) on a Sunday morning! But one thing that’s helpful is the many deals which have subsequently appeared on book selling websites! So, if you, like me are using this time to try and read more, then detailed below is many ways in which you can pick up your next page turner for free (or at least at a discount).

First up, Audible, who recently released the following statement on their website:

For as long as schools are closed, we're open. Starting today, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.
All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.
Explore the collection, select a title and start listening.
It's that easy.

Their titles are varied depending on age, but include stories from Beatrix Potter, A.A. Milne, and Rudyard Kipling, as well as C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Screwtape Letters’, and classics like Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and Romeo and Juliet.

There are also a number of titles available for $4.99 on LifeWay, such as ‘Steadfast Love: The Response of God to the cries of our Heart’ by Lauren Chandler, and ‘Running From Mercy: Jonah and the Surprising Story of God’s Unstoppable Grace’. LifeWay is also offering their Gospel Project curriculum for free during this time, which is the resource we use for our kids work on a Sunday morning.

Crossway is also offering the basic subscription plan on ESV.org for free until the 31st of May 2020. With the plan you can access 9 different study bibles, the Greek New Testament, and the ‘Knowing the Bible study series’ which covers every book in the bible across 45 volumes.

Most books at The Good Book Company are also discounted up to 40% off, books such as ‘Where Is God in a Coronavirus World’ by John Lennox, and ‘The Friend Who Forgives: A True Story about How Peter Failed and Jesus Forgave’ by Dan DeWitt.

Finally, Moody (A Christian book publisher) is also offering several of it’s titles at 50% off, including The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. While everything on the site is at least 40% off until the end of March.

So, if you’re looking to get into reading during your time of self-isolation, or if you have always been a lover of books, there’s lots out there for you!