Sometimes God removes us from our comfort zone so He can communicate more clearly.

Cha’Von Joell’s birth father Henry “Bussy” Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke in 2011.

Although he was living in Ethiopia at the time, she hopped on a plane to help.

“I had never [even] considered travel to the UK, so I certainly didn’t plan a trip to Ethiopia, but I found that I had little choice,” she said.

Family members didn’t understand, but she felt she was being led by a “greater force”.

“I followed God’s orders and He made a way for me to reach my father, communicate to get his passport and health clearance sorted, and fly him back to Bermuda to family.”

Her father died a week later. She considers those last days they spent together a blessing from God.

“I am always humbled by the experience,” said Mrs Joell, author of the Bermy Chicks chronicles. “It has allowed my faith to grow in leaps and bounds.

“I have a new respect for God’s work. I try to identify it in everything because I know that our challenges are temporary, and come with an amazing blessing when the smoke clears.”

She grew up in the church, attending services at Worldwide Church of God, Seventh-day Adventist Church and St Philip AME.

Her faith, however, didn’t become real until her 30s.

“I had always felt a spiritual pull when working on writing projects.

“It felt like my words were fed by a greater spirit and I was just the puppet without control of what I wrote in poems, songs, plays and even stories.

“Then I started listening to the Holy Spirit instead of what everyone around me was preaching about religion and spirituality. Thus began my life as a spiritual being; it was a new way of life.”

She’s now “much more humble, aware and patient” when faced with life’s challenges. She’s also come to understand that people enter — and leave — our lives for a reason.

“We are connected and are designed to empower each other through words, actions and talents,” she said.

“The sooner we realise this, the more fulfilling life is for everyone.

“The people in our lives at those times are instrumental and important for us to grow, and recognising when those relationships are over is part of the process.

“There were several points in my life where I lost a friend or loved one. That taught me that I haven’t really lost them, that phase in my life is over but the life lessons remain in my heart.

“I don’t question God’s work anymore. In good and bad times I recognise that life is not always as we see it. It is God’s plan, not ours.”

Mrs Joell moved to England in 2012.

She is involved with a number of companies there including UK Relo Connect Limited, a firm that helps people around the world relocate, mostly to the UK.

“When I shut up and listened to God I stopped living how I thought I should and started just living,” she said. “Listening guided me towards entrepreneurship instead of settling on a great paying job, but I am sure God is in control because we’ve been blessed from the time we launched. When you follow the path God has set for you, things just fall into place.”

Her advice to other believers is “don’t fight life”.

“Know that God is always with you so no matter the circumstance, turn to Him and give thanks,” she said.

“Listen to the Holy Spirit when He is warning you of bad choices.

“Be humble like Jesus and aim to be the best version of you at all times. When facing adversity, know that it is Satan’s actions and not the individual that means to do wrong. Pray and ask God to guide your response, to show love always, even when others (or you) don’t understand.”