A journey of restoration, thanks to a faithful friend

After years of domestic abuse and one difficult situation after another, Rachel was trying to rebuild her life whilst raising two young children. Over the years she received support from different agencies and professionals, each one helping her through a particular crisis. She was grateful for every one of them but there was always an ending. Just as she began to trust someone, their involvement would finish. Her case would be closed, funding would end or they would simply move on. Rachel would find herself starting all over again with someone new and it added to her growing feelings of instability and that people will keep leaving her.

One of the ladies who helped her through a family support service was Elizabeth who walked alongside Rachel during some of her hardest days.  Rachel knew Elizabeth was a Christian. Over the years she had invited Rachel to church many times, but the answer was always the same. "No." Rachel had never been inside a church. Nobody in her family was a Christian, and she couldn't imagine herself ever becoming part of one.

Then one day, Elizabeth told Rachel that she was retiring from her job to spend more time volunteering at her church, and she wanted Rachel to come with her. Elizabeth simply cared and that quiet faithfulness meant more to Rachel than even she realised. When asked this time, Rachel said “yes”.

She remembers how nervous she was but that what she found was nothing like she expected. There was a welcoming café, a busy Marketplace supporting local families and a group of volunteers who simply enjoyed being together. Nobody pressured her or expected anything from her. They welcomed her just as she was.

Rachel started volunteering, then completed her training and joined the stock team at Marketplace. It was there she found the friendships that have become some of the most important relationships in her life.

But learning to trust again wasn't easy. Years of abuse had affected the way she saw people, particularly men. When people were kind to her, she found herself wondering what they wanted. She struggled to believe that kindness could simply be kindness. But, people checked in with her. They remembered what was happening in her life. They asked how she was. They listened and cared.

Slowly, almost without noticing, Rachel began to believe that perhaps she really was valued and worthy, and she found herself with a growing curiosity about who Jesus was that these people knew and spoke of.

Then one day her child became seriously ill and in the middle of her fear, Rachel found herself praying a simple prayer to God. If her child recovered, she would come to church. Her child did recover and she kept her promise!

Looking back now, Rachel says she has found so much more than she ever expected.

"I've learned everything here about how life should be," she says. "How families should treat each other. How couples should treat each other. What a loving community looks like."

She talks about the emotional healing she has experienced, about finding peace after years of turmoil and about feeling genuinely happy and free for the first time in many years. She explains, "It has to hit your heart first before it makes any difference in your head."

Today, the church is like her family.

She loves being part of a women's bible study group, where she senses God speaking to her through Scripture and through the prayers and encouragement of the other women. She describes discovering a love, value and purpose she had never known before.

Last Easter, Rachel was baptised!

Her children are not part of the church yet, although her eldest now volunteers at the Marketplace. She prays that one day they will experience the same hope and freedom that she has found. Recently, her children told her how proud they are of her.

When Rachel reflects on everything that has changed, she often comes back to one simple truth. So many people helped her through difficult times, and she is deeply thankful for every one of them. But when their work ended, they moved on. Elizabeth didn't. She stayed. Looking back, Rachel believes that long before she understood anything about Jesus, she experienced Him through one person who chose to keep walking alongside her. That faithful friendship led her directly to Jesus, who has changed the course of her life.