Jamie Alam remembers the afternoon his life changed forever.
“I just remember coming home one day, and my mum was crying. I could feel a heaviness in her heart that she was carrying. And then when she told us what had happened. That was the turning point.”
Growing up in a devout Catholic family, Jamie’s faith always seemed to be an inescapable part of his identity. Days were spent praying as a family, weekends were spent going to church and holidays spent visiting holy sites.
“We were constantly praying and going to Mass,” Jamie recalls.
Combined with his Lebanese heritage, culture and Catholicism went hand in hand. It was an intertwined, fervent part of his DNA.
“Being Lebanese, living with my beloved grandmother at the time, it was just ingrained into our being, praying, church, culture and faith.”
By the age of 13, what always felt like a warm, familiar blanket, began to feel restrictive and oppressive. Doubts began to cloud Jamie’s once unwavering belief.
“I really started to question things and had a very sceptical attitude when it came to religion. It was just rebellion, rebelling against what people told me that I had to believe in.”
With each passing day, the questions that lingered in Jamie’s mind grew louder: “Is God real? What is the purpose of all this?”
Feeling suffocated by the rigid structures of his upbringing, Jamie started to push back as he sought to carve out his own identity.
That was until that fateful afternoon, when Jamie came home to find his mother, Silvana, crying.
“She said that my father saw a neurologist, and the neurologist said that dad has motor Neuron Disease and that he has three years to live. We were shell-shocked. We knew this is going to change our lives forever.”
Motor neuron disease would show itself as a cruel illness, mercilessly stripping away his father Aghnatio’s strength and vitality.
Watching his father’s gradual decline sent Jamie into a dark spiral. In those dark moments he found himself turning back to the faith he had once questioned.
“I began to search within for answers. Why is this happening? I had to find strength within myself, so I could be strong.”
Jamie found that strength in the abandoned faith of his youth.
“I turned to God, and asked him to help us through this, to help navigate us through this crisis and through these challenges.”
In his family’s darkest hour, Jamie’s faith, once tested and wavering, now anchored him.
“I started to grow a desire to know more about Jesus and know more about, God. Going to church became something that was important to me. That time was crucial for us, to be close to God and to pray together as a family and just be there for each other.”
As his faith grew, so did his inner strength and the strength of his family. Jamie emerged as a changed man and over time, the rebellious teen came full circle with his faith, even seeking to go deeper into his discipleship.
“I decided to answer the call and do my first Alpha last year. I also, accepted the call to enrol in a Foundations of Missionary Leadership program, which has been an amazing experience so far. And this year I participated in the Camino walk, and that was something that I enjoyed, to, collectively represent our faith.”
But his father, through it all, has remained a steadfast pillar of strength, still inspiring his family and defying the doctors.
It’s been six years since the doctors told him he only had three years to live.
“My dad is a strong man. We’re all proud of him. He’s never going to walk alone. He’s always got God. He’s got his faith, he’s got his family. And we’re all there for each other.”
Jamie’s believes his faith journey, marked by rebellion and doubt, is a testament to the enduring power of belief in the face of adversity.
In his father’s illness, Jamie and his family found not only a reason to believe but a reason to hope.
“If I could speak to my younger self, the self that kind of was doubtful and pessimistic, I would say to have faith, to just trust in God’s plan. Don’t be afraid. Even if things seem really difficult, you still have to have hope.”