JOURNEYS
Redeemed by Christ
Jesus led Garrett Fincher away from a life linked to alcohol and closer to Him
- Garrett Fincher // January 4, 2010
Garrett Fincher's Baptism ©
One of the greatest ‘proofs’ to the power of Christ, is life change. A one-time alcoholic and drug addict, Garrett Fincher, gave up the way of the world to follow the Way of Jesus. After nearly destroying his life, God restored and redeemed Garrett and gave him a new path and life, one that is being aligned to bear much fruit for His glory.
Romans 3: 23-24 (ESV) For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.
I never intended to be a ‘bad’ kid, but I guess it just happened that way. Drinking, drugs, gangs…every type of evil seemed to have my name on it. There was something about the rush of that activity that drew me in—and kept me attached to it. I escaped most of these ills by joining the U.S. Navy, but alcohol still had a firm grip on me. Throughout my struggle with the bottle, I had always been seeking God, but never could break free, never could really surrender to Him to the point where I was released from the chains that booze had on my heart and life. But, He never gave up and His messengers never did either. Drunk one night, I ran into a man sharing the gospel. That moment combined with another believer’s invitation to church a short time later, allowed me to see Jesus Christ through the cloud of my perpetual stupor. With His power in my heart, planted ever-so deeply, I finally turned away from the lifestyle of drinking and to a lifestyle that imitated Christ. These days, my highest aim is simply to give Him glory.
In so many ways, I’m just amazed that I survived all I’ve been through…but it was apparent that He had His hand on me, even when my priorities were on doing the devil’s work.
I don’t want to blame my home environment, but it had a lot to do with how I ‘turned out.’ I grew up in a single-parent home, my dad working long hours to provide for me and so was hardly ever there. While his long work hours paid the bills, I became a typical latch key kid, practically raising myself; and as a result, found myself getting into the wrong things in life. My drinking and drug addiction began around the age of 12 or 13; I attached myself to people who shared in the same interests, which only amplified the problem. By the age of 18, I was either getting high or drunk on a daily basis, dealing the drugs to keep the habit and put some money in my pocket. On top of it all, I was involved in gang activity, which usually meant either crime or violence.
After high school, I felt the need, which I now believe to have been God’s urging, to get away from my neighborhood, old friends, and devious lifestyle. I achieved this by joining the Navy shortly after graduation. I was shipped off to boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, and then attended a follow-on technical school there. While I did my best to succeed, I failed to complete my training due to a poor academic performance. The Navy then sent me to a military police training school in San Antonio, Texas. This school was a better fit for me, excelling to be the top of my class. Even with such great prospect of a future on the horizon, it was spoiled by the habit that had already wrecked so much of my life—alcohol. I went out with some buddies from the school and got drunk, then got stupid, and got caught. Another student did his duty and informed the authorities that we had been drinking. The top officer of the school took the violation very seriously, gave me a military penalty where I was confined to the barracks (restriction), and also kicked me out of the school, even though I was so close to graduating. My next orders were to USS Normandy, a cruiser, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, where I would be an ‘undesignated’ deck seaman, basically the Navy’s default job for people who either didn’t pick a job coming in or lost their job like me due to disciplinary reasons. Though some people chose to take on the life of a deckhand, officially called a boatswain’s mate, a life of painting and chipping, of working the lines (ropes) to get the ship out to sea, it seemed to me like the worst possible job the Navy had to offer. Though I didn’t acknowledge it fully, I could sense that God was definitely with me because at least I was still in the Navy—and not on the street.
I wish I could say things got brighter once on the Normandy, but instead they got worse. My drinking habit became more severe, and I was shortly thereafter in trouble again, another underage violation, this time by city local authorities the Virginia Beach Police. I was tried this time by both the City of Virginia Beach and the Navy, administered by the ship’s commanding officer. I got off relative easy, a slap on the hand by both authorities, so it still wasn’t registering in me that I needed to change my ways. Then a month after serving my ‘sentence’ on the ship, 30 days confinement, I got another underage violation. The ramifications still remained minimal, but my superiors realized that I had a problem and got me help. I was sent to a drug and alcohol counselor, who diagnosed me with a serious problem. I was given thirty days inpatient treatment.
During my time in treatment we were instructed to choose a higher power to whom we could give our addiction over to. I chose the God of the Bible. I had never had a true relationship with Him, and I really had no idea what the gospel was or what it meant to be saved. I had a vague idea of who Jesus was and I surely wasn’t about to submit my life over to Him, but I kept God in my pocket, so to say, to get me through the AA program. I began to pray for Him to relieve me of my alcoholism, which I sincerely wanted to be rid of and I knew that I couldn’t do it on my own. I made it through treatment, though with one minor hiccup. Well, I guess it wasn’t minor. I almost got kicked out for a dispute I had with my counselor, but I wept through a disciplinary review board; they decided to keep me on if agreed to stay for an extra week. I did and made it out thinking I had defeated my alcoholism.
I returned to my ship and went on deployment three days later. This was a set up for failure. My ship was going on a diplomacy-focused deployment, where we would make several port visits to countries throughout the world. I knew that the nightlife at each place would tempt me, and I could sense that there was a likely chance I would revert back to my old drunken ways. Despite these fears, I could tell that God was still with me, even though my attempt at a relationship with Him had only been half-hearted. But, He was persistent in planting and watering seeds in me. Soon after the beginning of the deployment, I was approached by a guy on my ship that had recently become a Christian to attend a Bible study he was putting together. I did, and actually felt like I was establishing true relationship with Christ. But, the temptation around me, as far as doing the deeds of the world, was too much to bear. I quickly talked myself out of following Christ, of believing anything that I had learned of the Bible, and wrote my faith off as being foolish. I soon began drinking and partying again everywhere we stopped; from Iceland to Captetown, I had a beer or some other drink in hand.
When I returned from deployment, my girlfriend at the time, now wife, Patsy, and I moved in together. I didn’t really see the moving in together situation as a sin, as I would now, but God used the relationship and closeness we developed from our living situation to bring me to Him. He created a dilemma where I had to choose between alcohol or Patsy; in the midst of that dilemma, He sewed conviction in my heart. Still, I chose alcohol, yet neither God nor Patsy refused to give up on me.
Patsy’s commitment to me, even with my problems, led me to take her hand in marriage a few months later. But, my marriage to alcohol was still in full swing. A couple weeks after we were married, I was in trouble again with the Navy, unrelated to alcohol, just related to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was a UFC-style brawl going on in my living area on the ship (berthing), and everyone who was witness to it was put on restriction; I got 30 days. You can imagine the strain that this put on a new marriage. Patsy is a strong woman, though, and again put up with my foolishness and was very encouraging through it all. And, of course, the Lord was still with me because after three alcohol related incidents and countless days of restriction I was still in the Navy. You can see that He had something in store for me and shortly after His plan was revealed to me.
My restriction time ended just in time for God to make a life-changing move. Our ship made a trip to Annapolis, Maryland to support the Naval Academy’s Parents Weekend. While out on the town with friends, drunk as usual, I was approached by a man and his family who were sharing the Gospel to passersby. Though intoxicated, I was genuinely interested in what he had to say. We talked for a while and the Holy Spirit was definitely weighing my sin and guilt at this point. At that moment, perhaps more than ever before, I could sense that the Lord was demanding that I make a change. He was breaking me down with the weight of sin. When we returned to Norfolk, I soon began to be more assertive in seeking Him, by openly reading the Bible and inquiring about a local church I could attend. It just so happened that a new officer, an ensign, who had been sharing his faith with a multitude of members of the crew, engaged with me about Christ. Since I was working in the officer’s mess, we were able to have a handful of good discussion. One day I asked him about where to go to church and he invited me to First Baptist Norfolk. I accepted the invitation and my wife and I attended a Sunday morning service there.
Church that Sunday—and other Sundays to follow—presented me with the gospel message in ways I had never heard, and in ways that really spoke directly to the heart. At the conclusion of the service, I knew that my life would be changed forever. I don’t know exactly when, but very soon after this experience I prayed and gave my life over to Jesus Christ.
Immediately, after asking Jesus to be my Savior, I was changed in some major ways. I no longer had any desire to live the life that I had been living. It was a radical rebirth and I was a new person, no longer bound by sin. God gave me a whole new outlook on life and all I wanted to do was live it for Him. I was immersed in His Word constantly and I separated myself from old habits and old friends. I have been sober now since the day of my conversion and have had absolutely no desire to get drunk since. My relationship with my wife has become increasingly stronger (God carried us through some rough patches).
As for a life path, I am now blessed with a calling to ministry. I am now out of the Navy and preparing to attend Bible College. I am excited about what God continues to do in my life and cant wait to see what He holds in the future for my family and I.
In the times of reflection, I am just so thankful that He spared me…my life is a true testimony to the power of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.