FIVE GALS, ONE FAITH, ONE CITY

Allow me to introduce Louisa, Miranda, Sasha, Gemma and Vivian.
To celebrate Easter I asked five of my fabulous friends to share what difference faith in God makes to their lives in the city?

Louisa Hayford, 30, London

“Some people say Londoners are the rudest people in Great Britain and I agree. Of course, I don't mean all Londoners but I lived in LA for a few months and the people were much friendlier but maybe that’s down to the warmer weather. To be honest, I find Londoners can be alittle cynical, selfish and cold. I’m not naturally a cold person but being around this day in and day out affects me.

My faith in God reminds me that I’m not to emulate cold Londoners and let society shape me and the way I treat people. When I read God’s word in the Bible, I see what I can be like and the type person He wants me to be like. There are instructions for every area of my life. For example, the Bible says I must be ‘quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.’ It’s a guideline and I strive to live like this especially in my relationships. My faith in God means this city won’t destroy the best parts of me.”

Miranda Holt, 23, London

“It’s taken me years to feel unconditionally loved by God. I finally know the love the Bible teaches that God has for everyone. I always knew it in my head, but now I know in my heart that I’m unconditionally loved and accepted by God and it makes a big difference in my life. I just feel really secure in His love and I just know that everything in my life is going to be ok, even though things might not turn out the way I planned. I have discovered that the more I experience God’s love in my life, the more love I seem to have for others around me and the less I feel fearful and afraid of people who don’t like me or who may have a bad opinion of me. God’s love is the main love in my life and the love that I’m most aware of everyday. One of my favourite verses in the Bible is where God says, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.’ It reminds me that His love is secure, pure and unconditional not like a human love or the love of a boyfriend that can be taken away.”

Sasha D Taylor, 36, London

“Last year, I gave up my job security working as a teacher to do supply teaching instead. I wanted to follow my dream and give talks to encourage disheartened Christian women who are feeling discouraged in their faith. Leaving my job means that I can be more flexible with my time but it’s a drop in income. This means that I no longer get paid the same amount each month or throughout school holidays. During the gaps between each teaching job, I trust that God will provide for my needs. I’m inspired by the people in the Bible when I read how God provided for them in supernatural ways. Since leaving my secure job 18 months ago, God hasn’t let me down and all my bills have been paid. In the Bible, God says he’ll never leave me or forsake me and it’s not always easy to live by faith but I believe Him. Without my faith, I would have been too worried about money to leave my job. Now I’ve learnt that God is my source not my job. I can’t rely on job security as a job can be taken away. At the end of the day, if I can’t trust God then what’s the point of being a Christian?”

Gemma Le Tissier, 22, London

“I used to live with the biggest fear of failure and it just got worse the more I achieved. I did really well at school, which meant that I felt under pressure to succeed in order to please everyone around me. However, because of my relationship with God I know He has an amazing plan for my life and is in control of everything whether I pass or fail. While writing my dissertation for my degree, I felt God equipped me to handle the stress and stay calm. So many of my student friends were having panic attacks and threatening to quit the course.
They came to me and I was able to help them out because I had finished my dissertation three weeks before our deadline. I know I could never have written my dissertation or completed my course without my relationship with God. My faith in God means I know that I'm unconditionally loved by him whether I achieve academically or not.”

Vivian Obanobi, 30, London

“My faith in God has changed the way I see my money. Before I was a Christian, I was all me, me, me, what can I buy for me. I saw my pay cheque as all my money but now I see it as the money God has given me, it’s His money! God has blessed me with so much and is so generous to me. My faith has made me more aware of the needs of others around me and I look for ways I can meet those needs sometimes financially but in other ways too. It took a long time to study and fully understand what the Bible teaches about money but now I get it and my priorities have changed. I'm no longer constantly chasing the ‘it’ item of the month. I used to budget to buy clothes every month, now I don’t. I just buy replacement items rather than ‘it’ items.  On payday, I give ten percent of my gross salary to God at church before I pay my bills and that’s the minimum that I give away each month. I really enjoy giving money to God and contributing towards funding community projects my church is running. Faith in God has changed my heart towards giving and it’s so freeing. I used to be incredibly money obsessed which is the opposite of freedom. My faith in God means that instead of having a Vivian-centred attitude to money, it’s God-centred.”