Thea Oliver
I have always been a Christian; I was born into a Christian
family, I was baptised, confirmed and married Richard in the same Methodist
Church that my parents were baptised, confirmed and married in. I attended
Sunday School, Brownies & Guides there too. I have never experienced the
bright light of conversion like Paul, my life with Christ has been constant
almost like growing up with another parent or sibling experiencing the ups
& downs of family life. Sometimes I am a little envious of people who have
‘found’ God when they were old enough to appreciate it! For me it’s just always
been there an integral part of who & what I am. I view my salvation as a
work in progress for me & God as we journey together.
I’m a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a dog lover,
ex-Church warden, I have been a school governor and last year saw the end of an
era spanning 20 years of PTA meetings & events!! Apparently I like to be
involved….! Actually I see it more as responding to being called by God to give
back something of what I have been given, and in extension to this to be an
instrument for God on earth. I believe that we are called to be in the world
alongside others, not separate from them, this means I believe that I need to
be involved & accessible, one of the crowd, otherwise how will I have
credibility, and what influence can I have? Being a Christian is the support
mechanism that helps us all to speak up if something is wrong, or (just as
importantly) to praise when things go well.
Being asked to join the preaching team was a great honour
for me, but also very daunting. I have no hesitation in speaking in public, or
even making a fool of myself, making others laugh, but to be asked to share my
thoughts is so very personal I believe to do this is potentially risky because
I would become open to criticism and therefore very vulnerable. So far people
have been kind, as Chris said in his piece, we welcome constructive comments
after our sermons, we can spend ages writing something that takes us minutes to
read so please do discuss with us anything that we said that struck you, it
shows that someone was listening! So what do I do that sets me apart from those
who are not Christians? I’m not sure that I can tell you. Am I a ‘good
nurse’? Am I a ‘nice person’? I hope
so, but then so are lots of people I know who profess no faith at all & who
would either tease or pity me for mine if the subject came up. I just keep
talking to God, believing that He hears and answers me, and I know that He
loves not only me but all of us.