Before arriving at Murray Lodge, his life was filled with trauma, anger, and destructive choices. Surrounded by crime and chaos, he struggled to break free from a cycle that had defined him for years.
But everything changed when he met Sarah, the chaplain at Murray Lodge. He found hope, faith, and a sense of peace he had never known in a moment of deep despair.
Through prayer and forgiveness, David discovered a freedom greater than he could have imagined — one that not only changed his heart but also gave him a new mission to help others.
What was life like before you came to Murray Lodge?
My background is horrendous. I’ve had a lot of trauma in my life, and some of it is my fault – I don’t want to blame anybody. I was full of hatred, I had hatred for very specific people in my life and I wished horrible things on them. I’ve done horrible things. I was hanging around with a lot of drug dealers, football hooligans, and they were my, my friends from childhood.
So yeah it was a bit of a hectic life. I came out of prison, came straight to Murray Lodge. It was a bit nerve wracking because I didn’t know the lads there, I didn’t know the staff. But then I met Sarah she changed my life.
Tell us about how things changed?
I’m going to be honest with you… the night before I met Sarah our chaplain at Murray Lodge I was going to throw a towel in with my life. I’ve had so much trauma in my life, some of it is my fault, and that night I was done, and I planned it. I saved all my medication up and I was going to do it that day.
Then I met Sarah and there was something about her, I don’t know – well now I know – but when I walked upstairs all the negative thoughts were gone, suicidal thoughts were gone. I sat there thought, that’s really strange. Sarah suggested I prayed and at first I just laughed. But then the next day I prayed and… my whole body changed, my thought pattern changed. I realized that my negative thoughts weren’t there. I realized that the feeling in my stomach of anxiety wasn’t there and I was just smiling, and I realized something’s happened here.
What did you pray?
This is the most important thing for me… for 30 years I’ve had pure hatred in my life and in my heart for specific people. I’ve wished horrendous things on them. And when I spoke to God, I just asked for forgiveness for them thoughts. And I felt that anger taken away. And, then I said to the Lord, please just, just take everything away.
How have you experienced forgiveness?
I asked God to forgive me, but I had to forgive someone too. I had real hatred for someone, I really did. But when I look at him now and I can say to myself “I forgive you now.”
People say the best things in life are free. But the best thing in life is to be free. And when I forgave him, the freedom I now have in my heart is immense. I hated him with such a passion that I just wished horrible things on him shouldn’t do that because he’s my brother. But now I forgive him and, and we talk… and that’s massive!
What is different in your life now?
Calm, calmness. I’ve got calmness around me now. I’ve had to step away from my friends, from my old friends who I grew up with. My life hasn’t been a bed of roses but I haven’t looked back. I go to church. I do an addiction meeting on Wednesdays with others and we invite the homeless in, we pray for them. Even my sister and my mum have seen the difference, my sister phoned up and said “whatever you’ve done with David, thank you so much because he is a complete different person!
I do voluntary work for my church, I work in the garden. I help the lads at Murray Lodge as much as I can. I met two lads there who didn’t even know how to cook. Now that’s a red flag for me. If you can’t survive in cooking and feeding yourself, how are you going to move on? So I did try and help – I started some cooking classes with them in the kitchens there.
Before I wouldn’t care if you didn’t eat… but now I do, and it’s a massive change within me.
David's story features in the spring 2025 edition of our supporter magazine, alongside more stories, news and updates.
A golden oldie in Langley's history! Watch this episode of BBC's Inside Out from the 1990s that focuses on Langley (then called Langley House Trust).
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The staff are such lovely people and it just makes you feel comfortable… It's like a sort of sense of family…
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