Lorraine Poulton tells how a Jesus music classic affected her life.

Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy's concert at the Budokan in Tokyo was packed out with over 10,000 people. The music was good and loud and my two Swedish friends, Suzy and Monica, and I grinned at each other as we watched the band rockin'n'rolling through their set. Afterwards, we made our way backstage and showed our VIP passes to get through to the dressing rooms where the band were already laughing and drinking champagne.

Midge Ure was standing in on this tour for Brian Robertson and I was on a modelling contract in Japan. While the band were in town we partied the nights away at exclusive clubs and noisy bars in Tokyo, along with Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham, Suzy and Monica. I was 20 years old at the time and looking for fun. This was the life-style I'd dreamed of, out all night dancing with exciting people, seeing the world and having lots of money. This is the life, I told myself, what more could I want? But I did want more.

I remember sitting down one day to write a letter home to my family in Wolverhampton. As I sat there thinking, something made me wonder what I'd be doing five years from now, where would I be at 25? What an exciting thought, but it seemed so far off, I couldn't even imagine it! If someone told me I'd become a Christian and be going to church three times a week, I would've laughed. I wanted everything the world had to offer; that would be heaven for me.

Five long years later I stood at my window in Venice Beach, California, watching the waves crash on to the shore. How things change, I thought. I'd been to a party that had lasted for three; days where the alcohol and drugs were flowing I was really messed up. I was ill and felt so low I could barely walk around my apartment, but there was no-one I could turn to for help; no family here and no real friends who would be glad to come over and look after me. I was so lonely as I picked up my address book and began to turn the pages slowly, looking down each entry hoping to spot a forgotten friend somewhere who I could call. By the time I came to the last page I realised there wasn't even one person in the whole book I could contact. I thought of my family, my mum, and I felt lost and alone.

It was a really tough time, but I got through and pressed on, still searching for happiness and looking in all the wrong places. Then one day a friend told me he was going to church and purely out of curiosity I asked if I could go along. After the meeting I was given a booklet which explained the gospel and the next day I went out to sunbathe and began to read it. To my surprise I read that there really was a God who cared about me and loved me, He wanted me to get to know Him and start life afresh as His child! As I read the booklet God was revealing Himself to me and I began to believe. I could feel His presence and, I couldn't help myself, I went inside and knelt down to pray. I was suddenly aware that for 25 years I had ignored my Father who had watched over me every day. I really cried then, at first out of shame, I was truly sorry. Then came tears of gladness, a new life, a fresh start, never to be alone again! I was loved and felt absolutely wonderful!

Soon after I was given a Keith Green cassette, a far cry from Thin Lizzy, but as I listened it touched my heart, especially "Your Love Broke Through". At first I was amazed that there was someone else who felt just like me, then I began to meet other Christians whose lives had been changed by God's love. I'd play my new tape in the car everywhere I went, telling people how He could come into their lives, too. Some listened, like my mum, and it was beautiful to see them set free, no longer blinded by the world; but others were locked into their fantasy and nothing I said could help them. It took time for me to realise that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to wake us up to the real world. As the song says, I could never doubt His gentle touch: it's like the power of the wind.

YOUR LOVE BROKE THROUGH
Words and music by Keith Green, Todd Fishking, and Randy Stonehill

Like a foolish dreamer
Trying to build a highway to the sky
All my hopes would come tumbling down
And I never knew just why
Until today when you pulled away the clouds
That hung like curtains on my eyes
Well I've been so blind all these wasted years
And I thought i was so wise
But then you took me by surprise

Like waking up from the longest dream
How real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy that blinded me
Until your love broke through

All my life I've been searching for that crazy missing part
And with just one touch you rolled away
The stone that held my heart
And now I see the answer
Was as easy as just asking you in
And I'm so sure I could never doubt
Your gentle touch again
It's like the power of the wind

Like waking up from the longest dream
How real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy that blinded me
Until your love broke through

Like waking up from the longest dream
How real it seemed
Until your love broke through

© Copyright 1977, Benson Music