Ashampstead

Dear Friends,

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A friend of mine recently told me some of her life story and I asked if I could share it in this letter. This is it:

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Do you believe in angels? Because I didn’t just believe - I needed one. I married at 26 to the man I thought heaven had chosen for me. He was my best friend, my safe place, my everything. From the outside, our life looked perfect - success, travel, freedom, a thriving business.  But perfection has cracks.

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The drinking started quietly. Then it grew. Late nights. Excuses. Weekends became shorter and lonelier. I saw the signs but held onto hope. I had left behind my career, my family, my entire life to build something with him. I told myself it was worth it. But you can’t outrun what’s already broken. The drinking consumed everything. Hidden bottles became part of daily life. And then there were the affairs - truths I buried because I wanted so badly to believe he would change. I told myself the lie so many of us do: He’ll change - I can fix this. So I endured. I told myself I could survive this - until I couldn’t. Until the day his darkness turned toward our children. That was the moment everything shattered.

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One freezing Sunday, we sat in church. I should have felt peace - but all I could smell was alcohol on his breath. And in that moment, I prayed, I begged “God, save us. Save this marriage.” But rescue doesn’t always look like restoration. Sometimes, it looks like escape.

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A few days later, I was in a park with my children, waiting for it to be safe to go home. I felt completely alone. And then… he appeared. An older man in white overalls. Ordinary, yet not. He asked if I was okay. I said what we all say: “I’m fine.” But somehow, we kept walking with him. He led us into a building I don’t remember noticing before. The moment I stepped inside, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time - peace. Real peace. And a thought came to me, clear as day: “I’m home.”  That place, a local church, became the beginning of my rescue.

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What followed wasn’t easy. I discovered we were £65,000 in debt. I had to remove my husband from the home, but I had no money and months of missed mortgage payments. It was terrifying. But then people showed up. The church. Friends. Family who had watched quietly for years. They gave what they could - over £10,000 - enough to help me sell the house and clear the debt. In a matter of months, everything I had built was gone. I became a single mother on benefits, starting over with nothing but my children and a fragile hope. But my prayer was answered. Not by saving my marriage. By saving me.

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Today I am Head of Operations at CCA in Reading, running a support centre for people who have lost everything. People like me. I understand their pain because I’ve lived it.  My children survived. They’re growing, thriving. And me? I’m still healing. Still facing challenges. But stronger - every single day.

And the man who led us to safety? No one knows who he was. He simply appeared… and then disappeared.

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So I ask you again - Do you believe in angels?

I put my hope in the Lord. He listened to me and heard my cry. He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise for our God. Know this, and honour and trust the Lord God. (From Psalm 40).

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Love from Rosemary Sandbach, Licensed Lay Minister, Basildon Benefice.