Fighter floored by sign from heaven! White dove signals new road of peace for man of violence Rugby professional Allen Langham was a man of violence, with seven prison stretches behind him, until a white dove signalled the start along a new road of peace. The sight of the special bird (a symbol of the Holy Spirit*) was a sign for which he had prayed to God to indicate that he was there for him at a time when he was feeling suicidal. “I cried out to the Lord that, if you’re hearing me, put a white dove outside my window. Show me that you are with me. “And the next morning, just as a flock of pigeons lifted off an apex adjacent to my window, I saw a white dove sitting there. It was the sign I needed, and I now knew Jesus was with me.” Now a committed member of his local church – Bentley Baptist in Doncaster, South Yorkshire – 35-year-old Allen is reaching out to others with the message of the gospel that has so radically changed his lifestyle. A full-time fitness instructor also providing dietary and nutritional advice as a representative of Herbalife, Allen grew up in a violent home. “Everywhere I turned there was violence and that’s all I knew. I was also abused as a child by a family friend and I couldn’t be controlled. By the time I was 14, my mum had died and I had no male role model as my dad was not around. I became a very mixed up young man with a lot of anger, aggression and other issues. “By the time I had left home at 16 I was a ticking time bomb I was so angry, bitter and lost. My sister ran pubs and I started to drink quite heavily and got into the gambling, fighting and drinking way that was my idea of what it meant to be a man. “But I excelled at rugby league and at 17 signed a professional contract with Sheffield Eagles, for whom I played prop forward (he later played for the Doncaster Dons). I soon had too much money, but not enough sense. And my fists were too good! “I was always fighting , travelling from pub to pub feeling I had to ‘perform’. But I got sent down in 1998 when I overstepped the mark and ended up in top-security Belmarsh as I continued slashing and stabbing people, hurting others with the hurt I felt myself.” It was in prison that he got introduced to heroin, to which he eventually got addicted, separating from his partner and missing out on seeing his daughter growing up. He went chasing the ‘bright lights’ of London, but ended up sleeping on the streets with his feet rotting. Fortunately he was ‘blessed’ by another prison sentence because he would otherwise have died, he said. And it was there, spurred on by a picture of his daughter on the wall, that he tried to break his addiction as he started to rebuild his life. And during the next two years in custody, he acquired 46 qualifications. But on release he soon returned to his old ways. “I had such a big chip on my shoulder that I got back to drinking and started taking cocaine as I continued the vicious cycle in and out of prison. “Finally, I couldn’t handle it anymore and decided to take my own life. But that’s difficult in prison, as they make it suicide proof. But before that I dropped on my knees and cried out to the Lord: ‘If you’re hearing me, put a white dove outside my window. Show me that you are with me.’ “Next morning, on the apex adjacent to my window, pigeons (looking as depressing as the rest of the place) lifted off in slow motion and a white dove was left sitting there. ‘Thank you, Jesus,’ I said. ‘I know you are with me.’ That’s the sign I needed. “I was subsequently transferred to Leeds where I was able to really study the Scriptures, pray and even fast (which wasn’t too difficult as there was not much food anyway). And slowly, but surely, all my anxieties began to evaporate until I was filled with pure peace. “It hasn’t been easy; in fact it’s harder for me now because I’ve got a conscience that I never used to have. But I am being blessed on a daily basis and have had the privilege of reaching out to others in need by laying hands on the sick and praying for people on the street. There are things to do!” *The Spirit of God is said to have descended ‘like a dove’ on Jesus as his baptism.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:39:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015