Hi, my name is Meg Jackson and I’m 18 years old. I was brought up in a strong Christian family and my family are members of The Community of The Risen Christ. I’ve just started my Nursing course at Glasgow Caledonian. Last summer I had the opportunity to go over to the States and live and serve with a sister community in Minnesota. For seven weeks I lived in a student house, with 6 other Christian girls, praying and serving and sharing life together.

During the summer I strongly felt God speaking to me in the area of descernment and encouraging me to give my life over to him. One evening I was at a prayer meeting, and the guest speaker encouraged us to give our plans and our hopes over to the Lord.  It was described in terms of American Football – we should all be receivers running forward to receive God’s plan with open arms. We sang ‘Here is My Life’ and I knew God was present there and that he would not call me on to anything he knew I could not handle.

Towards the end of our summer, we had a camp coming up. It was called Servant Camp and it was with a group of youth whom I had never met before. There was about 200 youth there and I didn’t feel up to it. We travelled there on a Sunday and  I was tired, I didn’t

have the energy or the drive to participate. I had met so many different people that summer and I could not see the point of forming  new friendships when I was leaving  to go home a week after this camp. My service was camp craft, which was cooking over a fire, something I had never done before. Now I was supposed to teach kids how to do it after a few hours of learning myself. During the week though, God taught me how to serve again.  The kids I worked with served each other selflessly, encouraged one another and shared good times together. It was a humbling experience but I learned from them. It was a fantastic week, one of the best of the summer. God knew what he was doing. I formed friendships with people which have lasted.

It was hard to come home, it always is. It was like coming home from a very long retreat. I was on a high and I had to come back down to the day-to-day jobs and routines. I started disregarding all the important things God had said to me. I remembered them but I started doubting that God had really spoken to me and had a plan for me individually. The world and the devil got in the way. I fell away from personal prayer, which was so pivotal to my relationship with God over the summer. My schedule got busy and God wasn’t at the center. My sisters in the community though, encouraged me and supported me and I made a real effort to get prayer back onto my schedule. Somedays I succeed and some

days I fail but our God is a loving God who welcomes us back with open arms, even when we don’t deserve it. Throughout my life, my walk with God, he has always been there with me. I prayed for a job to fund my trip to the States, and he provided a job, at the right time, with great people and good experience for my nursing course.  He gave me so much more than I asked for. God continues to bless my life and I continue to trust in his plan for me – Jeremiah 29 : 11 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”