Alcohol Almost Destroyed Everything! Until God Stepped In

“When you get that call, there's something that takes place. “You see your loved one's faces, you wonder, am I going to get shot? Am I going to have to shoot? The stress of that is unbelievable, not knowing could this be my last call. Right. And every police officer faces that every day.” 

The overwhelming stress of being a police officer was taking its toll on Marty Breeden. The only way he found to cope was at the bottom of a bottle.

“I mean, I could not put it down. I did not have an off switch when it came to alcohol. I would start drinking, and I would drink into blackness,” said Marty.  

The addiction had destroyed his second marriage of 30 years and alienated Marty from his daughter, making him want to drink all the more.

He said, “It seemed to; to calm my nerves, and it seemed to really help me deal with the cares of life, and it helped me push stuff down that I didn't want to deal with. And I could push it way down with alcohol. But it would be there the next morning, of course.”

Eventually, the years of heavy drinking caused his body to break down.

On July 17, 2015, the 51-year-old woke up struggling to breathe. Dangerous levels of carbon dioxide had built up in Marty’s body from alcohol abuse… now it was starving for oxygen. He just made it to the ER before passing out. 

“Not being able to get your breath is, is frightening,” said Marty. “I remember being really woozy in the room, beginning to somewhat spin, and things began to just be kind of warbled. And that's the last thing I remember.”

Marty’s heart was in A FIB, and his lungs were failing. He slipped into a coma and was put on a respirator to keep him breathing while doctors worked to keep him alive. 

Marty says that at that time, he had left his body.

“I was immediately in the presence of the Lord Jesus. And I heard his voice, and I knew it was him because it was that same voice that I had heard as a young child.” 

Marty’s fear as a police officer was nothing new. As early as five years old, he suffered with irrational fear of death. As he got older panic attacks followed. 

“I remember when this would happen,” said Marty. 

“There would be this beautiful voice that was so comforting that would come to me in the midnight hours, and it would be the voice of Jesus and I knew that.” 

“And he would say, "There's always me. You can always turn to me.” 

At 17, he committed his life to Jesus Christ. Later, however, as Marty dealt with the difficulties of his job and his first marriage failing, he turned his back on God. 

Marty said, “I can remember hearing the voice, Lord, trying to deal with me about certain things in my life, and I would just push it away, oh, another time. I've got plenty of time. I'll get back to that another time.”

He was wrong. However, now in the presence of Jesus, he was at peace. 

“When I stood before the Lord, he could have said a million things to me, "Marty, you blew it here. Marty, you messed up here. Marty, you failed me here. Marty, you disappointed me. You let me down here,” said Marty. “Here's the important part, though. I had lived a life of repentance. When I would drink, I knew that it was wrong. I was like, "God, forgive me. " And I really meant it. I really grappled with this thing. No one wants to be an addict, but you get so caught up in that thing that we esteem that addiction even stronger than the power of Christ, which we know is not true.”

Then Marty says, Jesus gave him a mission. 

"My church does not really believe that I'm coming back soon." 

“I was like, 'Lord, yes, we do believe you're coming back soon. We sing about it. We preach about it. We pray about it. We hope for it. Lord, we do believe that you're coming back soon." And he said, "My church does not really believe I'm coming back soon, for if they did, they would not be living as they are.”

Marty awoke from the coma after three weeks. Now stable, he was transferred to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where in six months, he made a full recovery. 

Marty said, “And I remember literally putting my head in my hands saying, 'Oh, God, what happened?" Reflecting on my life, and the Lord in his graciousness said this, "Son, just come back and do what I've called you to do. " And I have tried to do that since then.” 

Marty never touched alcohol again. And in 2018, he retired from police work. 

God has restored his relationship with his daughter and with his two ex-wives. Then, in 2022, he married Georgia. Today, Marty continues to share the love of Jesus Christ and the news that he’s coming again.  

“The thing that has surprised me more than anything in my walk with God is his endless pursuit of my heart. It makes me want to serve him more, seeing how faithful he is and how kind and loving and gentle he is. His mercies are new every morning. Now I still remind him of that some days. But, his graciousness is beyond comprehension.”