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They
Tell Their Story
Alec's
Story
The
First Half of his Life
Alec,
at the time of writing, is in his mid seventies and is married for the
third time. In his words “I've lived a tempestuous life, and it's like
I've come into a harbour.”
Alec
grew up in east London, in a poor area. He often played truant
from school but was a keen reader. He left school without qualification
and became an apprentice steeplejack in south London.
In
late 1946 he was called up for National Service and went into the Army
Catering Corps. He was posted to Europe. When he returned
to England he married and had two children.
He
returned to his steeple-jack job, but a short while later was recalled
to the army, and was posted to Korea, still as a cook. While there,
his camp was overrun by the North Koreans and Alec spent the next 14
months in captivity, with all its attendant horrors. When he was
eventually returned home it was to find that his marriage no longer
existed and so divorce followed.
He
returned again to his steeple-jack job. One day, while cycling
to work, he was run over by a lorry and suffered multiple injuries.
After a very long recovery, being unable to continue work as
a steeple jack any longer, he eventually got job as a bank messenger,
where he stayed for many years until retirement as Chief Messenger.
In
his late 30s Alec met, fell in love with, and married, a girl from the
bank who was eighteen years his junior. A wonderfully happy marriage
lasted about twenty years.
However,
during that time he was involved as a passenger in a serious car accident,
and suffering a smashed knee, had to have a steel bolt put through one
knee, so that walking was often difficult, gradually getting worse and
worse with rheumatism.
One
day, while Alec was at home with the pain, he was urgently called into
work because his love of twenty years had just collapsed. In fact
it had been a burst artery in the brain and she had died almost immediately.
Alec, understandably, was shattered. He turned to drink to cover
the pain, and was soon even considering suicide. He had a broken
body and a broken heart.
After
the funeral, many friends came back to the house, including a couple
of neighbours who had known Alec for many years. All Alec can
remember of that wake was standing in total desolation looking out the
window while all the guests stood around the room chatting quietly.
Yet when he turned round, Alec remembers the sight of one couple,
the two neighbours, with tears streaming down their faces.
The
Turning Point
As
the days passed, this couple began to look after and care for him. At
the time Alec didn't realise they were both Christians, active in their
local church, but gradually as they cared and shared this became obvious.
One
of the activities they put on, as part of their church activities, was
a barbecue to which they invited Alec. It was there Alec met their pastor
for the first time. The two found themselves sitting next to each other
and, as the conversation flowed, Alec found himself being challenged.
There followed many similar long conversations. Alec says that
although he was well read he was being challenged in an area he thought
he knew about – but didn't!
He
kept on questioning and, in Alec's words, the Pastor, “allowed me to
paint myself into a corner! He never pushed me, he never tried to put
me in an awkward position, he just let me question.” A journey
of seeking was under way. Alec said, “It was a time when I was
realising more about myself than anything else.” He argued and
argued about God, life and the Christian faith.
Feeling
a need to be on his own and work through all the thoughts that had been
going round in his head, he walked along the familiar banks of a nearby
river and read a leaflet he had been given about how to become a Christian.
In
his words, he “wanted to get rid of all the external influences, without
any one else intervening.” As he came to the end of the path along the
river bank, he thought, "What have I got to lose?" He looked
at the leaflet and prayed the prayer it suggested. There was a
sudden sense of total release flowing through him – something significant
had occurred – something lifted off.
When
he walked back along the path, he heard two workers swearing. They had
been there before when he had passed and their language had meant nothing.
Now, suddenly, their language hit him like something painful, he was
suddenly sensitive to wrong.
Strangely
though, when he got back home and thought about what he had done, it
all seemed ridiculous, but the reality of it wouldn't go away! He was
changed! He was different!
A
Transformed Life
In
the days and weeks that followed, the Bible became a new focus for his
reading. He started attending church. He was both a delight and a provocation.
This east Londoner could only speak the truth, and he didn't think too
much about what others thought! His fresh, transparent faith was
a joy to be around – if you were being a real Christian! Some of his
old friends, and even family, found it difficult to cope with the change.
As
Alec's faith began to grow he realised he wanted to be baptised.
At his baptism on a Sunday, he decided his lifelong habit of smoking
should go, so he determined to make a great effort to stop. He
prayed – and started chewing gum instead! By the Thursday of the
following week his jaws ached. He went along to his church house
group and his group leaders offered to pray for him.
As
they crossed the room and reached out to him, the power of God hit him
so powerfully that it laid him out on the settee. The group were more
than a little startled being unsure what going on. Later that
evening they took him home, still very much in a groggy state.
Later
that night, at home alone, Alec suddenly realised that his knee no longer
ached. The pain that had been plaguing him for years had gone.
He flexed his knee. It was fine. He jumped - it was fine!
At
3.00am in the morning he went outside and ran and danced in the street,
and realised a miracle of healing had occurred. It took him a few more
hours to realise that all desire to smoke had also gone. A double
miracle of healing!
Quite
some time later, Alec's Pastor received a call asking him to go and
visit. On arriving at Alec's home, he was told that Alec was leaving
the church. Why? Well I'm having a problem and I've just got to
leave. Why? Gradually the story came out. In his house
group was a divorced lady who could not stand him and the two seemed
like sandpaper to each other. One of them had to leave, so it
would be him! How about praying about it for a bit before you do anything
hasty? He consented. A number of months later Alec and his
lady were very happily married!
And
so…
This
is Alec's story. We've only touched briefly on some of the main areas
for you to see.
In
the early part of his life, he was someone who clearly got a raw deal
from life – divorce, the nightmare of a prisoner of war camp in Korea
, two devastating accidents and the tragic and devastating loss of his
lovely second wife. Perhaps you've been there, those times when life
seems to fall apart.
Yet,
in the aftermath of that he found a new sort of love, the love of God
through Jesus Christ. This brought with it an incredible transformation,
an amazing healing, a lovely new wife, and a new family!
Alec,
as we said earlier, is in his mid seventies now. He's still the east
Londoner with a great sense of humour, an ordinary guy in many ways.
He enjoys gardening, reading, his family and his church. He's still
got that freedom that calls out in the middle of the Sunday morning
service and provokes the congregation. He's got a love for Jesus,
a love for the Bible, and a love for people.
An
Illustration
In
the Bible, in the Old Testament book of Zechariah, the prophet Zechariah
receives a vision of the priest of the day, called Joshua, standing
before God in a very scruffy state, and Satan also standing there accusing
him (presumably for his very filthy state!).
And
as Zechariah watched, he heard God rebuke Satan for his accusations
and heard Him say about Joshua, “Is not this man a burning stick snatched
from the fire?”
God
then told the angels surrounding Joshua to take off his filthy clothes
and He said to Joshua, “See I have taken away your sin and I will put
rich garments on you.”
Alec
is another Joshua. As he looks back over his life, he knows it was self-centred
and godless. He deserved the fire. There came the burning of the pain
of life. Then he was snatched from the fire, his sin forgiven by Jesus
Christ, and his life transformed. Yes, Alec is very clearly another
Joshua. Perhaps you could be too.
This
is Alec's life, a life transformed by the grace of God. Here is a man
who is both a testimony to the awfulness of life in this fallen world,
and a testimony to the wonderful transforming power of God through Jesus
Christ.
If
you want to ask anything further about the Christian faith, contact
Tony Thomas:
tony.thomas@rochfordcc.co.uk
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