Christina Seal
‘Confidence in Christ’
Wow! As a maths teacher, you would think that standing in front of a church full of Christians wouldn’t be as daunting as a room full of stroppy teenagers!
I first came to church when my grandma, Christine Dann, brought me as a toddler, along with my brother Nick and my sister, Tash as well as my cousins. We all got to an age where we made a decision to still attend or not. I chose to continue coming with my grandma and can’t really say when I became a Christian, as it’s always been there for me. However, I don’t know whether I was being a ‘blind’ Christian before I went on the Alpha Course, just believing in what church told me to believe in because I wanted to be like my grandma!
One of the first sessions on Alpha told us how Jesus was a real person, something that was never in dispute by anyone in those times; it was just who He was that was the argument that is still going on today. If I’m honest, I never knew this. I just thought I believed in someone the Bible has told me about and who I have been learning about on a Sunday ever since I was a young child.
Since Alpha, our discussion group has become a house-group and I have enjoyed us sharing cakes and anecdotes about how not to be a weird Christian. One week was about considering what daily sins we commit. Mine was road-rage! After the session, I found myself not getting angry at people who don’t pull out when you flash them until you have physically stopped, but instead saying, ‘have a lovely day!’ out loud like a normal person would! Our lives are full of choices and I have chosen to try and live like God wants me to. I have only seen the positives from doing this so far, so I definitely recommend it!
I would like to thank John and Beryl Shirley for teaching me that Christians can become friends with people by just opening their homes to them; Mark Clay for teaching me that Christians can be funny; and Muriel Jarvis for teaching me that Christians can be mischievous!
Here’s the soppy part. Last year, I married my best friend. A man who, as someone who didn’t go to church before meeting me, has always supported me in my faith and has tried to embrace Christianity as much as I could ever have hoped for. It was the interest he showed and the questions I couldn’t always answer, that led me to taking (or dragging!) him to the Alpha Course. It turned out that the Alpha Course did more for me, giving me an unfound confidence. I went on the course as a Christian, but ended the course feeling worthy enough to stand here. I no longer compared myself to other Christians who I thought were better representatives than me. I believe God loves me as much as He loves every one of you and the reason I am getting baptised is because…
He is my Saviour!
Christina Seal
8th May 2017