Love requires courage, more than any of us can imagine. It is not a simple choice, but rather a complex and emotional one. To love, to really love, will inevitably require sacrifice, and for most, at some point, pain. Whether the pain comes because of the loss of a loved one, disappointment or some other way, it will come, but we love despite what may come. It’s a mystery for sure, but it’s a powerful bond that keeps people together throughout all the circumstances of life. Perfect love comes only from God, He is love and He first loved us.
This is my story, of being born into challenging circumstances, desperate for love, insecure and lost, then, like a lost sheep or coin, being found by the lover of my soul: Jesus. Once he enters my story, everything changes for the good, and so in sharing my journey my aim is to inspire you to believe that despite your circumstances, find love, find true love. As we read in His word: “And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”(1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV) He will change, challenge, shape everything about you, if you will let Him in, because God is love.
Today I stand tall, a man of God, a soldier equipped with His armour. The belt of truth buckled around my waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place and my feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14,15). Everything in this book is a truthful account of my life story as I experienced it, from my birth on 19 November 1977 at Addington Hospital, Durban.
Now in my early forties, a man with a smile on my face and joy in my heart for the things that God has given me, for the life that He has set before me and the purpose He has instilled into my daily living.
This story may come across as shocking and traumatic, and I have been less descriptive of some of the events for this reason, but to me and those close to me, it is an artwork, with God as the author and perfector of my faith.
A song sung by Chris Tomlin rings loudly in my head: “And all you ever do, is change the old for new, and we believe that, God, is bigger than, the air I breathe, the world we’ll leave, and God, will save the day, and all will say, my glorious”. God is the hero of my story and I trust that at the end of reading about my life, He will be yours too.