God calling
There are 2 significant events in my early life when I was aware of something special happening, both around the age of 7 but can not say which came first.
- The church bells
- The sanctuary lamp
(I was allowed to develop within a highly dysfunctional family in which my mother was strongly anti-god and anti-Christian.)
I was sitting in the bath one Sunday morning when I heard the church bells ringing and it was almost like God was saying “I want you here.”
The grey roofs in the centre are the Padiham Green C of E Junior School which I attended and the church on the right is the church of the sanctuary lamp. We were not supposed to go in unattended but I was nosy and stuck my nose in inside. It was quite dark and there was this red sanctuary lamp in the middle of the altar and it held me like a magnet. Once again I felt that something special was happening but it was a long time before the hounds of god got hold of me. Churches still draw me and I always visit when I can.
In my day the headmistress was Miss Livesey and she was a very good head. It seems the school is now about 3 times the size it was then.
Joy of new life, yet to come 