Life Story - Norman Merritt

I was born at Mill Road Maternity Hospital, Cambridge on Saturday the 17th July 1948 at 17.40. I have lived in the North side of Cambridge all my life except for a short five year period in the late sixties and early seventies when I was serving with the British Army.

The first time I had anything to do with God was when my mother sent my sister and I to Sunday school at Castle End Mission on Sunday afternoons. I hated it because I use to get called Moses by the other children playing football as we passed the recreation ground. When I was 12 I joined the Boy’s Brigade. There was gymnastics, football, camping in places like the Isle of Wight – oh yes and church on a Sunday.

When I left school I started an engineering apprenticeship for 5 years. As soon as I became qualified I left work and joined the British Army. There I became very friendly with a guy called Mick who came from Leeds. The second Christmas we were in Germany he asked what I was going to do over the holiday, and what was Cambridge like at this time of year. I told him I was going to see my parents and there wasn’t a lot to do. He asked me if I would like to go to Leeds with him for the first three weeks and then we could come south and spend a week in Cambridge. I now had a choice. I could have said either “yes” or “no” and that moment decided the course of my life. I went to Leeds that Christmas and got to know his cousin Carol.

Carol and I married in the May of 1971 and have been together ever since. We attended a church in London and life was good. In 1973 we had a boy and he was stillborn. In 1976 we had a girl and she lived for 6 weeks. Carol didn’t go out of the house for over 18 months. Every advertisement on the TV for baby’s nappies made her cry. I would see a pram in the street and I would do the same.

We were less that 5 years into our marriage and we had buried two children. Nobody came to comfort us. At the time we had a dog and I would often walk her out after midnight when Carol was asleep. I would argue with God but only got the silent treatment. As time when on, Addenbrooks Hospital found out our problem was to do with our blood groups. We eventually had two children - a girl and a boy. But it made no difference to me, God had taken away and for no apparent reason.

Then one summer’s day a leaflet came through our door advertising a Holiday Special club for children in the school school holidays organized by Arbury Community Church. I can remember saying to Carol "Let's send our son there -  it will give you a break in the mornings for a week."
After the club, parents were invited to church with their children. The church met in a local school. Our boy went for three weeks on his own and each week I said that I would go with him but didn’t. Carol said I should stop lying to him and either go or shut up! The fourth week I did go with him. He rushed ahead leaving me walking around the playground. It started raining and for the life of me I could not walk into that church service. I couldn’t go home and leave him there - Carol would have killed me! - so I hatched up a plan. I would go and stand at the back and tell my son that I had been. When I went in I felt the love of God move through my body and I just cried and cried. God had started something in me when my mother sent me to Sunday school years before! Since then I have known God in my life more and more.

I have learnt in life that we all have choices to make. If I had said "no" to going to Leeds I would not be writing this story now. It’s like that with God you’re either for him or against him. There is no sitting on the fence because there isn’t one!

We need God for the past, the present and the future

• We have a past which means we have all sinned against God and need saving.
• We live in the present with opportunities to make life changing choices
• We have a future which we need to prepare for. Jesus died and rose again to help us prepare for life after death.