Valerie 

As a teenager, I was at church nearly every day, be it Girls’ Brigade, badminton or youth club. But that didn’t make me a Christian. It is a long time ago, but I gradually came to realise that this was how I wanted to live my life – following the Jesus that I could see in the people around me. There has been no great ‘revelation’ but a constant stream of ‘nudges’. And in hindsight, I can see that God was there even when I was too busy bringing up the children and teaching. My faith makes me want to give of my time to volunteer in a variety of ways and I like to be practical – doing rather than talking – quietly in the background. When I have doubts, and I think they are increasing as I get older, I see God at work in friends, in the history of the church and creation and that enables me to ‘reset’ myself.

I feel close to God when I am out and about in nature but the closest is through music. We have some great songs in Singing the Faith, which have meaningful words and music to match, many about current issues in the world of today. I find them useful in prayer time as well. If we have silent time in church, with quiet, reflective music, I find this so helpful – calm and peaceful. I have been fortunate enough to sing in a choir which often performs great choral music: the requiems and many pieces composed to sing at Christian occasions. The words and music come together, showing God’s glory and majesty. I always love going to cathedrals, giving a sense of Christian history, but being able to sing Handel’s Messiah in a cathedral or any place of worship is heavenly, in many senses of the word!