How Katie was rescued by the love of Jesus

“There was a lot of death going on.” After a traumatic childhood, Katie Lovegood was nearly sectioned, but God had other plans. She is now the Ministry Support Worker at the Community Church in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, led by Counties Evangelist Tim Cracknell.

Life for Katie as a young girl was not the childhood anyone wishes for. She grew up in a non-Christian home in Cheltenham. Her parents weren’t terrible:

“We were all just stuck in survival mode. No one was thriving; everyone was wounded, dealing with ongoing trauma.

“I think my parents’ divorce affected me. The two homes thing was hard. Dad was homebound and on benefits due to years of illness. Nurses coming in and out frequently. I didn’t think he would live to see me as an adult,” says Katie. “Also, two of my brothers died; one of a drug overdose, and the other tragically died as a teenager. So, there was a lot of death and grief going on.”

Katie got married when she was 21 and had two children. But it didn’t give her the stability she needed:

“To say I went off the rails is an understatement. I think, except for taking another’s life, I have done everything bad: self-harm, addictions – mainly alcohol, which was my drug of choice – and various forms of self-abuse on many levels. There was always something, for example, I was never diagnosed with an eating disorder, but I was starving myself. I lived immorally. Work was unethical, and I dragged people down the dark path with me. I was in a world fuelled by greed and lust.

“When I started exploring Christianity and exploring faith, I was at rock bottom. I approached the NHS and said: ‘ I need help’ because life was spiralling out of control. I didn’t know what to do.”

She was on their ‘high alert’ list because she was so mentally unstable. Katie was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. So, they decided to medicate her with anti-psychotics. But she convinced them not to:

“I said I wanted to go to church and try a different way, which they allowed me to do. I was never medicated or sectioned. I did move out of the family home for a while, mainly for the children to give them some stability, without me being there and being unpredictable.”

Her approach to getting better was a bit unconventional for the NHS team, and so the whole care team heavily monitored Katie. They decided not to section her because, whilst she was very ill, she began to show consistency with her actions.

They then agreed to give her a trial period where she had to attend meetings and appointments so they could make sure her mental health was stable and not deteriorating.

“I don’t know why I decided to try church, but something inside me knew I had to start praying. A guy called Dan from the Community Church, on the same road which we live, was going round the neighbourhood giving out ‘Bags of Blessing’ and I got talking to him and that’s how I ended up coming to this church.”

“It probably sounds silly, but I was trying to learn right from wrong but didn’t know the difference. In the world I grew and lived in I could always justify and kid myself, and I needed to understand what was right and wrong. It sounds obvious to other people, but it wasn’t to me.”

“I had never explored the Bible – I thought it was a big, old, intimidating book. I didn’t know where to begin or what it said in certain translations. Then, when I started coming to the church, I found a small group and started to fit in and feel at home.”

When she gave her life to Jesus, Katie says she realised that she wasn’t very good at making decisions. So, she asked Jesus to guide and lead her because she was sure she would end up in a better place than if she were left to herself. She succinctly puts it: “I gave over the steering wheel.”

She does admit that she struggled with the concept of Jesus:

“I could get my head around the concept of God the Creator and Father. But I struggled with Jesus to begin with. I had to view Him as a teacher and build the relationship more gradually. Now, though, I talk to Jesus whereas before I talked to God.”

Katie is now 20 months sober and living back at home. She and her husband are pretty happy. She is back to being a stable mum to her children. She loves being around the church and people a lot, and she loves her new job, all guided and led by Jesus.

Her husband was raised Catholic and goes to church now and then. The children love being there as they see it as their extended family.

Katie was baptised in December 2023 after giving her life to the Lord.

“I had a lot of support. I didn’t know if I was ready. Shall I wait? Shall I read the Bible more? Shall I be a better Christian? But I had changed and thought: ‘Why am I putting this off?’”

Since then, she hasn’t looked back. She’s now growing in her faith and loving her new job. She laughs and says:

“Tim has just told me my main purpose is to keep everyone in line.”

“I want to stress how grateful I am to our Lord. He led me on a better path and brought amazing people into my life. He has healed our family, and I am so grateful to know, work in and serve the church. I didn’t know life could be so good. It’s all down to God, and I thank Him every day.”