Kenilworth Convention 2008

Sharon Fitzharris' testimony
My name is Sharon Fitzharris I was born into a practising Catholic family.I would go to mass regularly and I would say the rosary every day at 3 o’clock and then I would go to the pub on the weekends and I would go robbing up the town everyday, I was always swearing and swearing on my children’s life’s, taking the lords name in vain and I thought being a roman catholic was the only and best religion and I thought everyone else was wrong.About 14 - 15 years ago Christians came and told me about Jesus and I believed that they had found some new religion because I always believed that English people didn’t have a religion I thought I was it and they didn’t even get married or have their children christened so I looked down on them, I noticed one thing every time they told me about Jesus that they taught me from the bible.I always owned a Bible but even though I could read I didn’t understand one word of it. I asked the brothers and sisters to show me what they had told was in my bible and it was, then I knew this was god and not just man, I started listening and David Jones said to me you must be born again I am a roman catholic I’m pleased you have found a religion but it’s not for me and he said I used to be an altar boy and then I said to him and what are you now and he said I’m a born again Christian and I said shame on you. So he said would you not give your heart to Jesus and I said yes I will who better could I give it to, so he said can I pray with you and I said yes, but his prayers meant nothing to me and I just kept saying I’m giving my heart to you Jesus and I really meant it.My life carried on as before I didn’t fully understand the decision I made but slowly I got convicted of the things I done, I would cry and I didn’t know why and I would tell my children to get the things I’d robbed and throw them in the bin. Then there was a mission and me and my husband Tony both gave are hearts to the lord.We both continued to grow with the lord and after about 9 – 10 years my second oldest son was 22 years old and was brutally murdered by a Caribbean man, me and my husband wasn’t in the England at the time we were at my cousin’s funeral in Ireland and someone told Tony and no one never told me they told me my son Pa was ill, it took hours and hours to get home and it was the worst journey of me and Tony’s life when I got to the hospital there was crowds of people and the police was there and they took us in to see him and I had the shock of my life because I wasn’t expecting it I have been through many trials in my life but this was definitely the worst it was a nightmare of nightmares. I touched my son’s head and the police took my hand away and told me I can’t touch him because he had been stabbed in the head, when we come out all my people was trying to get me and Tony to the pub so when we wouldn’t go they got take outs of drink and fetched them to us and said you have to have a drink to help you sleep, so I told the people I don’t need a drink I need Jesus now more than ever, because god had took all desire of drink out of my life about 10 years ago now. W e couldn’t bury my son because we couldn’t find the killer and when the police came out I told them I don’t care if they never caught the man if your gonna catch him catch him for someone else sake before he does to another family what he has done to our’s. I give the police the scripture john 3 v 3 and said to him can you tell this man who’s done this that I forgive him and give him this scripture, the police said that they would definitely give him. When all this was going on god was speaking to my heart and telling me that I must show mercy for me to receive mercy and I live in the hope that my son had mercy too as my son was baptised and grew up as a Christian all his life. Jesus was my comfort all through this I could feel his very presence with me he never left me or forsake me, I never went to the court appearance in the old bailey that lasted about 3 months because I didn’t want to see the man’s face.The man received mandatory life, which means he will never be freed, I pray for this man to receive Jesus into his life. If he’d knew Jesus this terrible thing would not of happened, I’ve never been to where it happened to my son but my husband and my family go there because I know one day I will see my son again, I praise god that I don’t serve a dead religion now I serve a living god, I give god all the glory honour and praise because without him I would probably be and alcoholic now and I just pray that all my children will be saved in the name of Jesus.I thank God for all my brothers and sisters in Christ God bless you all.