Douglas Maclure grew up in a loving Christian family in India before moving to Dubai in 1989. In Dubai he joined Emirates airline as an HR Assistant and met his wife, Dawn. They moved to England shortly after the birth of their daughter Abbey.
I knew the role didn’t feel right for a long time, but I always had fears about finances and providing for my family
Douglas climbed the ladder at the high pressure role in London, working up from HR Officer to senior HR Manager for Europe. After the birth of their son Caleb, Douglas was juggling travelling abroad and long hours in the office with spending time with his family. Douglas said: “I knew the role didn’t feel right for a long time, but I always had fears about finances and providing for my family.”
After 25 years the demands of the job along with a five-hour daily commute from Ely to London had taken its toll. In April 2017, Douglas suffered a heart attack and underwent emergency surgery at Papworth hospital.
A long and difficult recovery followed and as Douglas returned to work he knew he could not simply continue as before. He searched for what to do next, but struggled to find the answers. Finally one year on, while Douglas was spending time in prayer he felt a powerful sense of God telling him to make the leap and leave Emirates, trusting God to provide the next step. Douglas said: “God provided me with a vision of a bright path ahead of me, really bright, but I couldn’t see anything else on the path.”
“I felt God say – you don’t have to be here. You can stay in your comfort zone where you are, or you can choose to take my path, despite not being able to see what’s ahead”. The sense was that God knew the plans He had for Douglas and would give him the courage to make the leap of faith.
God provided me with a vision of a bright path ahead of me, really bright, but I couldn’t see anything else on the path
He resigned in January and, supported in prayer by Dawn and members of the Countess Free Church, he felt called to set up his own HR consultancy. Douglas added: “It will take a long time to find clients and build a foundation and I still don’t know for sure whether the consultancy is the right path, or what God has in store for me.”
“But as I read His word and trust in God, He reaffirms the message in different ways. In the meantime, through the church and having fellowship with different people – God is using me now.”
Douglas with his wife Dawn are together members of the Countess Free Church.
Story authored by Abbey Maclure.