Originally posted on Facebook
It occurred to me that some of you won't have seen my testimony about Sizewell on social media, so thought I would share it on here also. Whilst this testimony is about Sizewell, I've really felt God saying that you didn't need to be at Sizewell in order to hear from God. All you have to do is listen!!!!
My testimony from our week away at Sizewell Hall Christian Conference Centre :
We just had an amazing week away at Sizewell Hall Christian Conference Centre. This was my 3rd time there. Tim has been going here ever since he was just a few months old so for him it's a home away from home. Usually we go as a Church every two years, but because of Covid, this was our first time back in 4 years. Such a difference between going as a couple to going as a couple with two children! But it has been the most amazing God-centred week. So many things happened:
Our journey was stressful getting there. We arrived late and had to rush in the door, eat dinner and just so happened to be on the washing up rota on the first night, plus setting up the travel cots and putting the kids to bed and unpacking saw us collapse into bed after midnight . I was worried that the whole week would be stressful and I wouldn't get from the holiday what I needed, but boy was I wrong!!!
The morning worship helped to start the days off in the best of ways. I enjoyed every sermon, every song, every testimony.
Tim lead worship one morning and it was so wonderful and so powerful and made me realise how lucky I am to be in love with a man who loves God.
Having two babies in two years, my faith never died, but I'll be honest, I had lost my passion for Jesus. And spending so much time here with God this week, and being around like-minded people, it was like God had stored up everything he hadn't said to me in the last two years, and was now absolutely catapoulting me with word after word, image after image. He had so much He wanted to say to me. And finally being at Sizewell, I had the time and the right setting to be able to listen.
Aaron gave me a message that he felt was meant for me. He told me not to worry about the things of the world and that God will provide. Which is so difficult when you always worry about money or housing. It's so difficult to put your faith in God for all things. But He told me that God is like a river. He never stops flowing. He never stops giving. And that he felt like God wanted me to know that. Which is funny because Tim and I had been joking that our taps weren't turning off properly in our rooms and the water kept flowing. So I think that was God having a private little joke with us and confirming Aaron's message for us.
In fact, water was one of the main themes this week that God seemed to reveal to a lot of us such as the imagery of the flood, of rain drops on a spider's web, of a pipe flowing with water. And that makes sense. We were right by the sea after all! You can literally walk out of the house, walk down the steps, and you are right on the beach. If you open your bedroom window, you can hear the waves crashing. It was so peaceful. I could have stayed forever!
We all have different ways that we hear from God but mine seems to happen a lot through imagery. This week was all about the butterfly. During one of the sermons, I noticed a beautiful butterfly flying around the room. It came over to me and I watched it as it flew around the windows next to me. It started flapping around frantically trying to get out and kept hitting itself against the window pane. Directly below that window pane was another window that was open. But try as it might, the butterfly kept hitting itself against the window and could not find its way out. And as I watched this, I felt like God wanted to point out that this butterfly is a reflection of us as human beings. Some of us might be going through troubling times, and try as we might, we may find ourselves continually hitting ourselves against metaphorical window panes over and over again, not being able to see the way out. But the way out is right there in front of you!!! God is the way out!!! He is the open window. Seek Him and you will find your freedom. I also saw a butterfly pin in the shop with the message "your wings already exist, all you have to do is fly", and I love that because that can be applied to each and every one of us. Tim also saw two butterflies and he linked it specifically to our relationship with a private message for me. I was so surprised because Tim doesn't often hear from God through imagery, but he said he felt like God wanted me to know that particular message, so that was wonderful to hear.
It was our 12 year dating anniversary while we were at Sizewell. We talked for hours on the beach, we went to Southwold Pier and to Leiston for dinner. We both felt happy and relaxed and both noticed that after recent events, how our relationship has somehow been restored into something even better than it was before! And I secretly think we have God to thank for that.
God had a private word for me regarding our children (i'll let you know if it ever comes true!)
God also told me that our house will come. If any of you know us, you know we've been struggling to save for a place of our own for years, and now we currently live with Tim's family to try and save for our future. Which has been a blessing really as it's wonderful watching the kids grow up with their grandparents, but obviously not a "forever" situation. I never thought i'd be married for 7 years, have 2 children, be nearly 30, and still not have our own home. But I guess God is doing something there in our struggle and one day we will find out what the reason for all of this has been. We still need lots of prayer for that. Especially with the economy seeming to get worse every year, and house prices rising faster than we can save! But God told me to stop worrying and that "our house will come". Fingers crossed that does happen soon, but you never know with God! His timing is never our timing!
We had amazing food all week. Thank you so much to the cooking team. Feel like i've already put on about a stone!
We took Noah to the beach for the first time ever! He liked the stones. He did not like the sea!!!
The boys got to spend lots of time with their daddy. There was barely any toddler tantrums and Noah seemed happy and fulfilled.
Tim & I made a really good team with childcare and rota duties and our partnership was definitely strengthened by this experience. It was just so lovely to have him around!
Noah learned loads of new words and played beautifully with the other children. Two of the words he learnt: "beach" and "stick", came out differently than we had hoped and had us absolutely rolling on the floor with laughter. Our child had to learn his first rude sounding words on a Christian holiday didn't he...
We dressed up as Goldilocks and the three bears this year. Little bit gutted that not as many people dressed up this year as opposed to other years. But we had lots of fun with it anyway.
We had an exclusive screening of https://testamentfilm.com/ which our very own Chris worked on! So cool.
We also watched the film "God's Not Dead" which really challenged me and stirred up my passion for Jesus once again. If you haven't watched it, I would really encourage you to (it's available on Amazon). The film makes you think about our eternity after we die and about the existence of God. Many people have found their faith through this film.
This holiday has inspired me to want to try out new Christian books/tv programmes/films and to go to more Christian events so that I can continue incorporating Jesus into our family life.
This year you could feel Sizewell absolutely bursting at the seams with God's presence. I have also felt God really working in my heart this week. Being here has strengthened my faith and has made me excited for what God has in store for me! I have honestly felt the Holy Spirit so strongly this week. It reminded me of when I first became a Christian and the overwhelming joy that you feel when you let the Lord into your heart. It's a joy that overrides anything else! The challenge is taking all of this good feeling and faith back home with me into every day life, as it is very easy to forget about all of this in the "real world".
We have had a brilliant holiday. Really didn't want to leave and can't wait to come back again soon! Who knows what God will have done in our lives before our next return? I'm looking forward to finding out!
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