I’m an ‘actively retired’ vicar with over thirty years’ experience of both ministering to others and receiving ministry, and the Lord has done great things for me over the years.  But last autumn I became aware of an increasing fear of the future – how will I cope with living alone when I am no longer fit enough to fill my diary with people or events?  Any time spent alone at home was making me feel disturbingly isolated, despite having a loving family and a supportive church.

I approached RTF and from the beginning I was impressed by the thoroughness, prayerfulness and sensitivity of the ministry as well as its sound biblical basis.  I was offered five sessions in January and February and during that time the Lord brought about a deep healing in my life.

What emerged was a long-standing sense of being ‘different’, always the odd one out, not really belonging, and therefore having to fend for myself.  God was a loving Father to me, but distant.  Gradually the roots of the problem were uncovered and healed, and during the final session I had a transformational encounter with the Lord.  Since that moment I have been aware of his presence in my home in a way that I’ve never experienced before.

What makes this all the more amazing is that my initial fear had been about what might happen in years to come – I wasn’t expecting that a month later the whole country would go into lockdown and I would be stuck at home alone!  And I can say that I haven’t felt at all lonely during this time, because my Father is closer than ever before.  His timing has just confirmed his unfathomable love, and my fear has been replaced by a new confidence and joy in him.

(E.J. Oxfordshire)