These are the words which were inscribed above the pulpit in the Gospel Hall which I attended as a child, in fact until I married. Although I was christened, confirmed and married in the local Anglican Church, it was at this little Gospel Hall where I learnt about Jesus and of His love for me. These people showed me the love of Jesus and initially I just accepted what they told me.

I sometimes wish I could say that I'd had a 'Damascus Road conversion' and that there have been absolutely no doubts but I haven't, and I can't. My walk with God has been an Emmaus Road experience - sometimes high on the mountain tops, and very often down in the valleys where there have been many doubts and my faith has been severely challenged.

In my teens, when I was in the older class, we would have speakers come on a Sunday afternoon (these were the days of afternoon Sunday School), telling us of Jesus and His love for us. One day, the speaker prayed with us and asked that if, during his prayer, we wished to give our lives to Christ, we should just raise our heads and look at him. That day I did just that and for a while I walked very closely with the Lord but gradually, as so often happens, I slipped back into my old ways and Jesus wasn't always the priority He should have been.

I married in 1967 and came to live in Knutsford and attended KMC with Pete, and gradually, once again, I found the love of Jesus through the people there. Over the years, I feel that my faith has been growing at different paces and when I look back I can see that Jesus has been walking with me, protecting me, loving me, showing me the Way. Such is life, that there have been times, and still are, of stress when I feel unable to cope: but these are a learning curve - not very pleasant but invaluable. I know Jesus is walking with me every step of the way and He is also there before me.

I have never had pictures when I pray but recently I was praying for someone and I prayed that God would hold the whole family in the palm of His hand - a phrase I have used more than once. On this occasion I had this picture of two hands, each with people standing in the palms - big hands with no chance of anyone falling out. That is how I feel God cares for us, safe in the palms of His powerful hands. One of my favourite hymns is 'I know that my redeemer lives' - it say's it all!