Road to Redemption!
I was born into a new Christian home. My mother had been “born again” about a year before I was born. My father was “born again” in March of the following year, 1955. I was born (the first time) in October of that year so I never knew the home of the pre-Christian Fletcher household. As a child I don’t remember not loving Jesus. I don’t recall when I “accepted” Jesus as my personal Savior, but I often attribute this to a lot of memory loss from being mauled by a dog when I was 7 or 8 years old.
By the time I was 15, I was active in my church. I enjoyed being around my friends in Sunday School class, CA’s / Christ Ambassadors youth group and all the other activities that went on around the family of God in our local church. I had many cousins living in our neighborhood that I enjoyed being around. My uncles and aunts were Christians also, so I was sheltered from a lot of the worldly experiences that others may have been exposed to. I’m not saying I always
made the best choices, but I always tried or made it a priority to do so.
In the spring of 1972, I became reacquainted with Debbie, the girl who eventually became my wife. At the same time, I believe the Lord was calling me into some type of ministry. While I definitely had a wild side during my teen years, I know without a doubt that I loved the Lord and wanted to live for Him. At 16, I was “Filled with the Holy Spirit” with the evidence of being “slain in the Spirit!” Please don’t stop reading here. I don’t mention this experience as a badge of honor but as an example of my desire to serve the Lord. If you have read my book, Scarred For Life! you know what happened the very next day. Over the next 11 years, I struggled with what I now know was PTSD or “post-traumatic stress disorder” following a horrific accident where I was burned over most of my body. While not officially diagnosed, I
now recognize the symptoms were clearly evident in my life at the time. During this period of time through all my struggles it wasn’t that I didn’t love Jesus; I was just mad! Very mad! I’m not sure what I was even mad at, but I was. It could’ve been that so many of the stress filled situations I was experiencing at the time I felt were beyond my control. Compounded as a whole, I simply couldn’t handle them all. Since the night that I had the encounter with the Holy Spirit years before, I had been burned in a horrific accident, married the girl of my dreams, been blessed with three, wonderful, healthy children and had a very large group of friends…but…I was still mad! I was working for my father in his excavating business as well as building a family campground. I was a volunteer for the local ambulance service, and I tried to be involved in church. You’re probably saying, “Tim, what were you thinking?” I’ll admit to you, not very clearly at the time.
Then in 1983, two friends that I admired and highly respected David, who was a family friend and mentor at the ambulance service and my cousin Scott, were both were killed in industrial accidents one week apart. I was devastated and their untimely deaths scared me tremendously. They were young and vibrant Christian men. They were here one day and gone the next.
I suffered through sleepless nights and tremendously challenging days until that December. At Christmas time, I was once again attending church regularly. I’m sure my pastor had shared something special that Sunday night, but I can’t remember exactly what it was. I was already feeling convicted by the backslidden life I had been living. It wasn’t necessarily so much that my actions that were bothering me, but my heart condition. I knew if I died, I would NOT make Heaven, and THAT scared me to death. God’s Holy Spirit was convicting me and calling me to “come home” and return to Him. He was calling me to start living the life He had called me to just 11 years before when I was 16. I don’t remember the exact date, but it was in December 1983 that I found my way to the altar of that little church in Dowagiac, Michigan where I rededicated my life to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’m sorry to say that not all my anger issues went away immediately but that night was a major turning point for me.
The next Sunday night, I went back to that same altar and asked God for an even deeper relationship with Him. Never having been a good reader, I struggled to comprehend and retain what I read. I told the Lord I would live for Him the rest of my days, but I then also asked Him to give me a special love for His Word, The Bible, and equip me with the ability to read and comprehend it. I can remember talking to Him like He was right there beside me at that altar and hearing Him gently responding to each word I prayed. I said, “Lord, you know I have difficulty reading in general. Please give me a love and an understanding for Your Word.” As clearly as you are reading this right now, He responded, “Tim, I would love to do that for you! In exchange for that gift, I want you to preach My Word!” In my joy at His immediate response I replied, “Yes, I will if You will lead me!”
That was 39 years ago, and God has never gone back on His promise to me. Today I can honestly say out of everything I read, The Bible is what is the clearest and dearest to me. When the writer of The Book of Hebrews says, it’s “alive and sharper than any two-edged sword” it truly is. Since that snowy night in December 1983, I have always tried my best to serve Him with my whole heart and He has never failed to guide me in the direction He desires me to go.
Thank you, Jesus for always and in all ways being faithful to me!
Humbly,
Tim Fletcher