Have you ever found yourself wondering if God really sees you? Whether He hears your prayers, or even has a purpose for your life?
I think most of us do at some point or another. Even as believers, it’s easy to get swept up in the demands and pressures of life, feeling lost or alone, asking, “What am I here for?”
I want to share my story with you, not because I’ve figured everything out, but because I’ve seen firsthand how real, present, and faithful our God is. This is a story of surrender, loss, healing, and restoration. This is what God did.
Early Faith, Later Distance
I was born and raised in the UK, in a quiet village called Burham in Kent. I’m the eldest of two children and came to faith at a very young age; just before my fifth birthday in 1977. I still remember the moment. It was after watching Jesus of Nazareth, the Franco Zeffirelli miniseries. Even as a child, the story of Jesus moved me deeply.
Though I believed in Jesus from that young age, like many, I eventually began living life more on my terms. After school and university, I began a career in software development and later worked for a large U.S. bank in London. Life looked good on the outside. I worked hard during the week and played hard on the weekends. Church was occasional, but God wasn’t central.
A New Life, and a New Start
In 2003, during a business trip to Atlanta, I met Susan, my future wife. We dated long-distance for a few years before she moved to the UK. We got married in 2007.
In 2011, we decided to move to Tampa so Susan could be closer to her family. I was able to transfer jobs within the same company, and we settled in Brandon. That same year, we visited Bay Life Church for the first time and never looked back. We were baptized in November 2011, both desiring to follow Jesus more intentionally.
Success Without Peace
Despite a long and seemingly successful career, I didn’t feel fulfilled. There was emptiness inside and I couldn’t shake it. I went to church, read my Bible, and tried to stay spiritually connected, but I felt lost. When I lost my mother in 2015 and my father in 2017, that sense of loss deepened.
The stress from work only made things worse. It began affecting my marriage. I was taking out my anxiety on Susan. I was deeply unhappy and made her unhappy too.
I found myself asking, “There has to be more to life than this.”
A Cry for Help, and a Swift Answer
On Sunday, July 16, 2023, everything came to a head. Overwhelmed by emotion and confusion, I broke down at home. I cried out to God in desperation, asking Him why He had created me. I surrendered everything to Him in that moment—my career, my identity, my plans.
I wasn’t expecting what would happen next.
The very next day, Monday, July 17, I lost my job. After 23 years with the same company, I was put on notice and offered a generous severance. Most would have seen it as a blow. For me, it was a relief. It was God's way of immediately lifting the weight that had been crushing me.
I decided to take the summer off to rest. But God had more in store.
Walking with God; Spending Time with Him
I made it a priority to begin each morning with God. Instead of treating it like another item on my to-do list, I started approaching this time like I was meeting a dear friend for coffee. I would go out to my lanai, open my Bible and devotional, and quiet my heart to listen for His voice. And something beautiful happened, my relationship with Him deepened, and my mornings became sacred.
The first truth God impressed on my heart was this: He is Sovereign. That realization shifted everything. It reminded me that He is in control over all things, and that I need to put Him first, fully trusting in His plan, not mine. Seeing God as Sovereign taught me to approach Him with a posture of praise and thanksgiving, even when I don’t have all the answers.
If we truly believe God is Sovereign, then even our complaints are a form of resistance to His will. Shifting from grumbling to gratitude not only aligns us with God’s heart—it changes our entire perspective. It helps us endure trials with peace, knowing He is working through every circumstance.
I also learned another key truth: we must surrender everything to God. Not just parts of our life—but everything. True transformation begins when we stop clinging to control and allow Him to lead every area of our lives. Only then can we experience the fullness of what He has for us.
A Medical Crisis and a Miracle
For months, Susan had been dealing with heartburn and reflux. Despite trying different medications and dietary changes, nothing worked. Eventually, her doctor referred her to a specialist, and she underwent both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy just before Thanksgiving 2023.
The endoscopy was routine. But the colonoscopy revealed something none of us expected: a cancerous tumor in Susan’s colon.
In January 2024, she had surgery to remove it. Though the procedure was successful, one lymph node tested positive, which meant chemotherapy. Susan bravely underwent treatment for three months and finished in May 2024. A few short weeks later, she was officially declared in remission in June 2024. Praise God!
What was amazing was that I now realized God’s timing was perfect. He knew about Susan’s cancer before we did. He took me out of my job and provided us with the severance package so that I could take care of Susan completely without the need for a job. God financially sustained us, and this close time together also helped mend our marriage and made us both stronger.
My First Mission Trip
In November 2024, I went on my first mission trip with Bay Life church to REAP in Nicaragua. It was an amazing experience for me and was profoundly spiritual. To see how people live in the third world really impacted my heart. I honestly felt closer to God than anytime previously in my life and the experience has permanently changed how I view my life. I will be returning to Nicaragua in November 2025 and cannot wait to go!
The world we live in is temporary, but we have an eternal existence with God, if we choose to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives.
This world will present us with so many distractions; especially in the affluent western culture but we really need to ensure God is foremost in our lives and that we are living obediently according to His Will.
A Door Closes and Another Opens
With Susan recovering, I began to explore new job opportunities. I wasn’t aggressively looking but applied to 20 or so positions. Nothing came of them. No interviews. No callbacks. It felt like every door was closed.
Then, out of the blue, on June 5, 2025, a recruiter reached out to me via LinkedIn. He had seen my profile and wanted to connect about a role. I said yes.
Within two weeks, I had two interviews, and a job offer. I started my new role on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 almost exactly two years to the day I lost my previous job. Strangely the new job is with another large bank and doing something I am very skilled to do.
God Is Real. God Is Good.
Looking back now, I see how God was in control of every step:
- He allowed me to reach a breaking point so I could finally surrender.
- He removed the stress that was damaging me—and my marriage.
- He gave me time and space to walk beside my wife through a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
- He closed doors I wasn’t meant to walk through.
- And He opened the right one, in His perfect time.
What I once saw as failure or loss, I now see as grace and protection. God never left me. He was working all things together for good—even when I couldn’t see it.
Encouragement for You
Maybe you’re in a season of confusion or loss. Maybe you feel unseen, overwhelmed, or like God has gone silent. I want to encourage you with this truth:
God is real. He hears you. He sees you. And He has not forgotten you.
He is working, even now, behind the scenes, writing a story greater than you can imagine.
Look what God did in my life. Imagine what He can do in yours. Just surrender fully to Him and let Him write your story.