Overcoming Addiction

Download MP3 of this life story, here.

Hi – my name is Lynndey Reid. My family and I have been going to SPC since October 2006. Pastor Matt had asked me before to share my testimony of when I received the Lord when I was 18, but I knew eventually I would share of a more recent experience. One like someone you might know is experiencing right now. If I could quickly give you a little background on Chris & I. We met through my younger brother. Chris was attending youth group with him at my church in Manassas. In Oct 1997 at a conference in Toronto Chris gave his life to the Lord. In January 1998 we started dating. Chris struggled with the old life for a couple months. In July that year we went to a conference in Kansas City called Passion for Jesus. The Lord touched Chris in a powerful way. He went home completely changed. By that Christmas we were engaged and got married the following May of 1999.

The following year our church in Manassas split up and most of our friends left the church. The church eventually didn’t have enough people to have child care during the service. We stopped going – it was also about the same time we started to build our house. So we thought it was ok to concentrate on working on our house on Sundays. Between building our home, having a newborn, 1 year old, 2 year old, and 7 year old, Chris working full time & going to college, and my working part time our relationship with the Lord fell on the backburner – the way back burner. We did attend the church ½ mile from our house and tried several churches in the area over that 3 year period, but never made any connections or felt at home.

Then in the Spring of 2004 I met up with some old high school friends and we were invited to go on a trip to the Bahamas with a group of people. Without a thought of what the Lord would have us do we got a babysitter and went. Chris and I were introduced as the “Christians”. My friend asked the other couples not to take the Lord’s name in vain and to cut down on the dirty talk. They looked at us a little funny at first but because we weren’t opposed to having a few drinks we were accepted into the group. At first the conversations offended me but the more we were around them the less and less I was offended. They called and invited us out a lot and we always went. After five years of no socialization we were finally “having fun”. The world opened its arms open wide and we walked right in!

Fast forward one year later and Chris & I had developed a bad drinking problem which pulled us right back into addiction problems we had before we accepted the Lord. The conversations that had once offended us we were now practically leading. 2006 – we progresively got worse. The Word says that your sin deceives you and we were deceived into not realizing the consequences of our sin.

In Summer 2006 I took my kids to a VBS at an area church. After all I wanted my kids to have some Christian friends. I told my 2 oldest that I would talk to the Mom’s of the kids they made friends with. My daughter Reyna really liked Victoria & Carl’s daughters. I didn’t know Victoria and I chickened out – I didn’t want to go up to a complete stranger and talk to her. So I got into the car to leave and something or someone wouldn’t let me. I sat there a few minutes debating with what I now know was the Holy Spirit. Finally I gave in and went and talked with her.

She invited me to Soul Purpose and told me that the church really focused on making genuine relationships and finding out your soul purpose. I thought That’s what we’ve been looking for! We went on a Sunday soon after that and we loved it immediately but the drinking, partying and sin were too strong in our lives and we didn’t come back. Finally that Fall through a series of circumstances & events we knew if we didn’t get straightened out there was a good chance that our marriage would be ending.

We knew we couldn’t fix ourselves and the only one that could restore us as individuals and our marriage & family was the Lord. We came back in October 2006 determined to recommit our lives to the Lord. In January we both started attending Life Groups – we knew we needed to connect with other believers. We were still struggling with the alcohol but the Lord is so gracious. Because we turned back to Him, He met us every step of the way. We became desperate to get rid of the control that alcohol had over our lives.

We missed one Sunday when Randy Peck shared, but we listened to the MP3 message. We ended up listening to it three times and all we heard was the power of prayer, fasting, and studying the Word. We fasted for our first time the next Friday which ended up being our first Friday in 3 years without alcohol. During that day we didn’t feel like anything was happening, but the Lord moved – and broke the chains of addiction in our lives. Drinking was once the focus of our lives but Praise God it no longer has control over us.

We also made a commitment to studying the Word and as a result I feel like the Lord has given me a transformed mind & life.

James 5:19 says:
Brethren if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

If you have a friend who is wandering – don’t shy away from speaking the truth of God’s love into their lives and praying for them. Also, we never know where someone is when they come through the church doors. They may be like Chris & I were – at the end of their rope. You welcomed us and we can’t thank you enough. Let us always be a body of believers with the arms of Jesus open wide.