Choices bring consequences, Jesus brings life

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor. My grades, my work experiences and the various opportunities that came my way all pointed towards getting into medical school. One of the programmes that I got onto provided mentoring and the opportunity to shadow doctors in a top London hospital. It was during this experience that I learnt that maybe medicine wasn’t really for me. The idea of being a doctor was different to the reality. I knew I could do it, but the idea of studying so much and not being able to spend very long with people didn’t really appeal to me. Anyway, the option to study medicine was still available. I could change and become more studious and less chatty.

However, during my A-levels, I lost focus. I soon found myself researching a group of people claiming to be Christian. I loved the amount of attention I was getting - I felt like a celebrity. They said they were Christian but they weren’t and then I wanted to save them. It got dangerous as I became obsessed. Nobody joins a cult intentionally, but once involved, it’s hard to leave. My grades went to the other end of the alphabet; I didn’t think I’d ever get into university. Instead of studying for exams, I was studying for conversations with them. I still thought it was my battle - I still felt like I was in control. I became a slave to what I thought I’d mastered. Moving on from this season was hard, forgiveness was a process, but I now see how this all worked together for God’s plan for me.

Although I couldn’t apply to medicine due to my grades, I was offered a really good gap year opportunity. It clearly wasn’t meant to be as then the programme changed and didn’t appeal to me. It was still good but it didn’t feel right. Long story short, I declined their offer and applied for a nursing degree over a weekend (the weekend before clearing). It all seemed a bit last minute.

That summer after my A-levels was amazing, I spent that summer working for a charity and then volunteered on a Christian summer camp. More gap year opportunities were offered to me but I wasn’t sure whether to consider them or not as I hadn’t heard back about studying nursing. On this camp, I heard about the opportunity to go abroad to Asia that September for 10 weeks; this opportunity was linked with the charity I had worked for that summer.

I had the interview to go to Asia the day before my university interview and I got both opportunities. So from September-December I was in Asia and then I started my Nursing degree that February. What a journey!

I am now working as a nurse, and the goodness of God continues to amaze me. I thought standing for Christ made me strong, but I’ve learned that submitting to him on my knees is where the strength is. Acknowledging and accepting God for who He is, and knowing that He loves me. My sin is serious, my weakness is evident, but God’s grace is sufficient.

My choices had consequences, but my faith in Jesus brought life and life in all of its fullness!