I was christened and confirmed at the St. John's Church, Knutsford, and I attended that church regularly up to and including the war years. I don't remember much of what I learnt at the Sunday School and the services, but I recollect that my friends and I had a happy time socially and at the church's tennis club.

I met my husband during the war, and we were married in 1946 and set up a home in Knutsford. My husband had no objections to my attending the church services although he did not want to be involved himself except, of course, for christenings, funerals and marriages. However, as we became involved in joint interests in the town I gradually drifted away and eventually stopped going to church altogether. When our two sons were born they were christened and went to Sunday School for a short while, but other activities took over and they too stopped going.

When the boys grew up and left home I found I had the time to indulge myself in further interests and activities - craft work and office work and Bridge, but I had an uncomfortable feeling that something was missing.

At that time I was invited to join a Christian choir and the Women's 'Aglow'. I enjoyed the fellowship I had with these Christian groups for several years but then my husband became ill and I had to give up a lot of my outside interests and activities in order to care for him. A few weeks after my husband's death in 1992 I experienced a frightening distortion in my eyes. A visit to the eye hospital and several examinations later I was told that nothing could be done and that the condition would go worse. During the next few months I became depressed and bitter, I did not think it was fair that this should happen to me. Despite visits from a well meaning rehabilitation officer I could not see how I was going to cope and I had to have a short spell in hospital.

A friend of mine said she thought that if I went to church again it would give me some sense of relief and she suggested I went to KMC - she took me the following Sunday morning and for the first time in months I felt relaxed. But then back at home on my own the feeling of depression and enxiety came back again. I remembered some words I had read a few years ago about taking God's grace in the dungeon and I felt it must mean that I could pray for God's strength to come and help me in these bad times.

I felt that I now had a real promise that God was always there and that his strength was offered for my taking. I cannot read the bible but I have tapes of the new testament and I attended an Alpha course followed by bible study groups.

Nine years on, and although I am now registered as a blind person I find that I have the confidence to organise my life and to make the most of the blessings I have, with God's help.

Dorothy