Responding to Life

For as long as he can remember, David Kendrick’s life had been filled with drugs, alcohol and violence. His testimony is one of hurt, pain, abuse, and mistrust.

 

Born in Houston, Kendrick was the second of three children. His parents divorced when he was very young and his life began to spiral out of control. Moving from state to state became a big part of his life. “I remember being in three different schools during my third grade year.” Kendrick says.

 

Kendrick can recall taking his first drink of beer at a very early age. “I remember the times when I would sit in my dad’s lap as he drove and get sips of his beer.” This behavior would become a permanent part of Kendrick’s life for years to come. When his mother remarried, his new home became South Dakota. “My stepfather,” he says, “was a terrible, violent alcoholic.”

 

In a short time, Kendrick moved from South Dakota to New Jersey to Missouri to Georgia. In Georgia, junior high and high school became a blur of drinking, drugs, fighting, and hanging in bars. By the time he graduated, Kendrick was a damaged young man, controlled by anger. “A rough childhood made me an angry kid,” he says.

 

Barely making it out of high school, Kendrick enlisted in the Navy. With a newfound sense of freedom, and a lack of any authority figure to hold him accountable, things got worse. “My new liberty involved hard drinking and everything else I could get away with,” he says. His reckless behavior led to a dishonorable discharge.

 

His life became a maze of failed jobs, more drinking, and more drugs. He became a drug dealer. Along the way he found he had a passion for the open water. He started working offshore and received his captain’s license.” I was doing well and thought nothing could stop me,” he says.

 

When he was injured working on a ship, a lawsuit and a huge settlement followed.

 

The money would prove his biggest trap.

 

One night while driving home in his new Hummer H2, Kendrick was in an accident with another drunk driver. The other driver died, and Kendrick was sentenced to four years in prison.

 

Some lives change in prison. Kendrick's is one of them. Through the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) at the Carol Vance Unit in Richmond, Texas, Kendrick began to turn his life around. “When I got off the bus at Carol Vance I stepped on the grass and felt things drain off of me,” he says. After two years on other units, a weight was finally lifted.

 

After a month, Kendrick started going to morning devotions—and began to do something he had never done before. “I prayed for the first time in my life,” he says.

 

Once in the actual program he started to listen and grow. Having a relationship with a Higher Power became important. A dramatic transformation began.

 

Kendrick also met some great friends. One friend was Bart, an IFI volunteer who taught the Celebrate Recovery class.

 

With God, Bart, and Celebrate Recovery, Kendrick started to heal. Today he’s a free man, both physically and spiritually. He was released from prison in 2007.

 

Coming back to IFI as a mentor is a big part Kendrick's new life. “Maybe there is someone who is watching my life that will be able to succeed because of me; this is why I come back.” he says.

 

Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Kendrick renewed his captain’s license. Now he is on the water once more doing what he loves. Today he is the owner of a fishing expedition company, ROGUE Outdoor Adventures (www.rogueoutdooradventures.com).

Reflecting on his life experiences, Kendrick expresses his gratitude for those who were committed to helping him turn his life around. And he recognizes that such a transformation did not begin with him.

“Because God never gave up on me,” he says, “I have a new outlook and a new way of responding to life.”