Breaking the Cycle of Addiction
Brit and Troy Rea and family
06/08
Instead of becoming bitter due to hard struggles, Brit Rea’s faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ helped her keep her family in church, persevere in prayer, and stay
united with her husband Troy. Brit says, “Through hardships, I just lean on the Lord
for His strength, comfort, and peace.”
Brit’s Background:
Brit’s biological father was in the Air Force when she was born in England. He
retired a year later. The Rea family moved for two years, staying with friends and
family, until they settled in Riverside, CA, when Brit was three-years-old.
Soon her parents divorced. For two years, her mother, brother, and she lived
with her grandparents. Her mom then remarried and gave birth to two more
daughters. Brit considers her stepfather her dad, since her biological father never
paid child support and sought no visitation. Nevertheless, in 1993, God reconciled
Brit with her birth father, then a Christian, just months before he died from ALS.
Brit says, “My mom is a Christian, and my [step]dad is not. He has a heart of
gold, but he is an alcoholic. Alcoholism has carried on through my family…my
brother is an alcoholic.”
Brit explains that her grandfather and his wife modeled Christianity when she often
stayed with them. As a five-year-old, she received Christ as her Savior. Her mom
kept her in church, active in kids’ and youth ministries. Later, she attended Harvest
Christian Fellowship for seventeen years.
Brit’s rebellion and God’s testing:
Despite the Christian upbringing, during her teen years, Brit confesses this, “I
fell away from the Lord several times because of peer pressure for drinking and
stuff like that and just did what others were doing. I decided this was not the right
thing. I soon came out of it, because I had great friends.”
Tragedies then tested Brit’s stand. In 1986, one of her best friends was killed in a
car accident. Afterwards, one of her friend’s sisters died in a different car accident.
Then in 2001, Brit’s twenty-three-year-old sister Tisha, was murdered. Brit says,
“That was a hard, hard time. I don’t know how anybody goes through any type of
pain like that without knowing the Lord.”
Troy’s dad leads his family:
With one sister, Troy was raised in the Catholic Church, involved in Catholic
youth groups, and attended Catholic schools. Although his father’s business moved
the family across country from California to Pennsylvania and back again, the family
remained faithful to the Catholic Church, and Troy completed eight years of Catholic
elementary school.
Before the family’s final move in 1981, Troy’s father moved ahead to get
established in Riverside, California. Troy feels his father had been on a spiritual
search in this move, for, when the family reunited, he announced, “We’re done with
the Catholic Church. This is the direction we’re going to take.”
So Troy and his family started attending Harvest Christian Fellowship. Within
two years, Troy made a commitment to Christ at a Campus Crusade event in high
school.
Troy rebels, dates Brit off and on, then recommits to Christ:
Peer pressure also drew Troy into rebellion in drinking and partying. He says, “I
was kind a’ like straddling the fence for a lot of years. Ahhh...I knew what was
right, but it seems like I was always holding to what was wrong.”
During their high school years, Brit and Troy dated off and on. He graduated in
1985 and went to college where he continued his destructive lifestyle. Although
they attended the same junior college, they associated with different crowds. Brit
had changed to follow God’s leading while Troy was “kind a’ like the Prodigal Son.”
In 1988, Troy went through a relationship break-up that reconnected him and
Brit as friends. Together they faithfully attended Harvest Christian Fellowship and
participated in different church activities. The mutual encouragement and
accountability with other Christians helped them maintain a steady walk with the
Lord. As Troy says, “Going to a church singles’ camp kinda’ got me straightened
out.”
Marriage brings choices, trials, and confrontations:
They married in 1989 and stayed involved in many church activities. However,
Troy mixed with unbelievers when he began working at Costco. His schedule of
returning from work around noon, while Brit returned about six p.m. meant he had
the afternoon to himself. For eight years, Troy spent much of that time with a
drinking crowd, including Brit’s alcoholic brother.
During those years, Troy says, “Brit was a very strong Christian woman and,
ah…didn’t do any of that stuff. My parents encouraged her but never interfered. She
was really the spiritual leader during that time…it should have been me, but….”
Troy admits to a life pattern:
“Having brushes with the law--drunk in public, ahhh…drunk driving,
ahhh…wrecked cars…costing us, ya’ know, a lot of money. Alcohol really had a hold
on me; I always had to have a beer in my hand. When my dad was younger, I
remember him like that. Alcohol is a big part of my dad’s side of the family, but he
kind a’ broke the cycle.”
Then on Troy’s day off on his thirtieth birthday, he remembers doing yard-work.
As always, he held a beer in his hand. He describes the scene of Brit coming outside
carrying baby Tatum, “That’s when she told me point blank, ‘You need to stop this
lifestyle; you need to be the spiritual leader of the house; you need to stop the
drinking; and you need to be a better father and a better husband.’ She said she
wasn’t going to put up with it anymore!”
Troy continues, “Ya’ know, I had a case of beer in the refrigerator, and I stood
and thought about it after she blasted me. Ahhh…I decided that she was right--I
should change. So I went inside and dumped out all my beer. That was the last
time. I believe it was miracle! These past eleven years have been the best in my
life, my family’s life, and God’s blessed us. I’ve been rewarded many times in my
company.”
Olathe Move and Life Church invitation:
After short-term moves to Nashville and Chicago, the Rea family moved to
Olathe in 2001. There, they hoped to find a church like Harvest Christian Fellowship
with Biblical teaching, Bible Studies, and vibrant worship. For over a year, they
tried five different Olathe churches. Then, in March 2003, they received a postcard
invitation to Life Church, meeting at Pioneer Trail Junior High. After their first visit,
they all agreed that this was their church home. They found the music amazing and
energetic and Pastor Clint very passionate in his love for the Lord and preaching
God’s Word.
Britt and Troy agree, “What really made us feel at home with Life were the
greetings. Clint and Mary made a point to meet us plus those doing kids’ ministry.
Lifers were over-the-top friendly, and the kids just loved it. High energy, passion,
and preaching the Word…that was exactly what we were looking for.”
Current involvement in Life Church:
Troy serves as an Usher/Greeter while Brit serves in the nursery and women’s
Bible studies. Seventeen-year-old Garrett serves as squad leader with HQ, helps
with Elevate, and sometimes attends Vertical. Both Lucas, 15, and Chase, 13, are
involved with Vertical, and daughter Tatum, 11, is involved with Elevate. Despite
going through hardships, the Rea family continues to maintain intimate closeness
through faith in Jesus Christ.