Jennifer Rees-Larcombe gives her Testimony at the "Family Life Centre" Norwich - Official Report from Sandie Keetch

Jennifer Throws her wheelchair away

Mother-of-six Jennifer Rees-Larcombe suffered every mother's nightmare when she ended up in a wheelchair after being struck by a rare brain virus. But her story had a miraculous ending as she told a Norwich audience.

Twenty years ago, Jennifer thought she had it made - a pleasant house in the country a dutiful husband and six children. But within two months that happy picture of family life was turned upside down when Jennifer was struck down with a rare brain virus and was confined with constant pain to a wheelchair for eight years.

"Imagine bringing up six children when you are in a wheelchair," Jennifer told a Salvation Army audience at the Family Life Centre in Norwich.

"As a Christian I tried to understand why it had happened. I prayed for healing many times but it did not come. But perhaps these were the most beautiful years because when everything else gets rattled and you lose everything you still have God," she said.

"Our marriage rocked, we moved from the country to the town but I felt an incredible experience of God. All we need is Jesus and then we have everything," says Jennifer.

Then, unexpectedly, Jennifer was prayed for by a new Christian and she was healed. "I never had a recurrence of the illness again, much to the astonishment of my GP who helped me write about it because it is good to get the medical details right," says Jennifer, who has written 20 books as well as Bible notes, magazine articles and a problem page.

A charity, Beauty From Ashes, was launched to support Jennifer's work and shows that "God is in the business of mending people," said Jennifer. Twisted, broken and shattered lives are recovering from loss and trauma through faith and dependence in Christ.

Jennifer, a trained counsellor, and her colleagues  feel that they are used by God in this restoration work. Their ministry embraces: prayer, handling emotions, Christian healing, adjusting to loss, conferences, teaching days and evangelistic events.

Jennifer's faith has upheld her through suffering including her marriage break-up. "A few months before our 30th wedding anniversary my husband left me and I wanted to hide and give up but I began to realise there are so many others like me who are struggling with difficult marriages although I still live in hope that he will return.

"It is hard to live alone but the Lord is a companion who never goes away and a friend who is never out."