Stories
Real stories from real people - an honest look at Alpha.
Melanie's Story
In 2002, I opened my jewellery shop in Bath. At the time I had a boyfriend. I’d been married before but that hadn’t worked out. The crux came last year when my partner and I split up after five years. It was a real shock. I thought we were going to live together, but at the last moment he changed his mind. My life was turned upside down. I started drinking a lot; it was the easiest way to deal with things at the time.
In August I went on holiday with a friend. On the outside it looked as though I was getting better. Things had started to progress; in July I had made the decision to move house. I needed to get a physical distance, in order to mentally move on. I was living in Chepstow at the time and commuting to Bath each day to work. It was on my day off those things felt at there worse. I would get so upset because however much I tried to move on, I was still so hurt and confused about the relationship. I remember shouting out, ‘God, there is somebody down here who really needs your help.’ I didn’t believe in God, but I needed to shout to somebody somewhere for help. I actually sat there on the bed and thought something is going to happen now because I have just asked.
In September, I was in the shop one day and a supplier came in, who I knew was a Christian. I remember thinking, ‘Oh no, not a Bible basher, I hope he doesn’t start going on.’ But then we had a really interesting conversation. The next time he came in I was in such a bad place, really down, and I remember thinking, ‘I wish you could help me’ but I never asked, because it would have been unprofessional. He told me there was an Alpha course happening in Bath and my initial reaction was, ‘Why would I want to go and do that?’ But the closer the day came the more I thought, ‘Well, what else am I going to do on a Monday?’ I was moving to Bath the following week and thought it might be a way of meeting some new friends. I decided I would go to the first one.
At the beginning of the first evening I jokingly said to one of the girls in the group, ‘I hope they don’t start singing or anything.’ Then of course they did, and I said, ‘Well I’m not going to stand up.’ I just sat there thinking, ‘This is my worst nightmare.’ Then I heard a fantastic testimony from a girl there and thought, ‘How could I not believe that, because who am I to disbelieve?’ Driving home that night I said to myself, ‘What do you really want Melanie?’ Then I thought, ‘I just want peace’ and it was really significant because things had been so hard. When I actually realised what I wanted it suddenly felt easier. There was such a clarity that came with the revelation that I decided to go back the next week.
The week we talked about prayer was a significant turning point for me, because I had never prayed before. I was amazed to find out about the things that people prayed for. I thought you only prayed about world peace and that sort of thing. We started praying as a group and I kept a prayer diary. Each week prayers were being answered, and all sorts of other things started to happen in my life at the same time. I was very short of money because I had kept my house in Chepstow, which I was trying to rent out, as well as paying a mortgage on my flat in Bath. It turned out that when my financial advisor worked out all the figures, there had been a miscalculation. This meant that I had borrowed more money than I needed. My solicitor called me up and said, ‘What do you want me to do with all of this money?’ A couple of days later £8,000 went into my bank account. I knew where it came from, but it certainly wasn’t accounted for. That money was so needed; it enabled me to pay off my overdraft amongst other things.
When the Holy Spirit day was announced a few weeks later, I had to find somebody to cover the shop. Right at the last minute I was let down and thought I wouldn’t be able to go. So I prayed to God, ‘If you want me there you need to help me out, because I can’t shut the shop on a Saturday.’ A couple of days before, two other friends came along who said they could help. I knew that God had provided me with these friends.
After the second talk on the Holy Spirit day, I just wanted to go home. I needed something real, but I wasn’t hearing it. At lunch, my group leader reassured me that it was all right to feel that way so I decided to stay. I had said to everyone in my group that I wanted, ‘Blinding, flashing lights and thunder.’ I wanted the whole works, because if He was coming into my life, I needed to know he was there. If he came in quietly, then I might have missed him. After the third talk we stood up to worship and I joined in. Then we prayed and I asked God, with great authority, to come into my life. Nothing happened. I started to get very angry and thought, ‘You are supposed to love everybody, yet you can’t even be bothered to come into my life.’ Inside, I was raging. Then I start crying and I couldn’t stop. I remembered how I had heard that God comes to people in different ways. At that point I knew he had just come into my life. I was prayed for and we prayed a prayer of commitment together. I was filled with this amazing feeling of calm and peace.
I woke up the next day with a smile on my face. I got up and went for a run and started praying out loud to God thanking him for what he had done. Doing the Alpha course has totally and utterly liberated my life. I no longer feel alone. I almost feel invincible, because I know that I can do anything now because God is there.
Melanie, December 05
Melanie is now a member of her local church and has since been involved as a helper on the Alpha course.