No More Chains

By Michelle Adserias

Violence seemed to follow Reginald Foreman wherever he went. He was bullied at school. He lived in constant fear of the gangs that roamed the streets of his neigh­borhood in The Projects, downtown Chicago.

When his mom moved him to Alabama to live with his grandma, Reginald hoped for a better life. Things didn’t improve much. Though his grandma took him to church, he didn’t re­ally know God in those early years. Still, he revered church, talked to God, and sensed some sort of call on his life – something he didn’t understand and couldn’t explain.

But Reginald’s mother was still an ad­dict, relying on the string of men who left money on her dresser to support her drug habit. One day she was in a rage. She be­gan beating him over the head repeatedly. Thankfully, his uncle intervened. The fam­ily agreed. It was time for Reginald to go live with his father and stepmother in Miami.

Overnight, he exchanged poverty for a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. Though his home life was better, Reginald start­ed being bullied again. Then he got mixed up with the wrong crowd and started getting into trouble. Once again, violence became a normal part of his life.

Sadly, his father also fell in with the wrong crowd. The carousing and drug dealing destroyed his parent’s marriage. When they divorced, Reginald was left alone and unsupported at his father’s house. He called relatives for help, but no one believed he was in real trouble – that the successful life his father built had crumbled.

Left to fend for himself, Reginald ambushed a man at the grocery store and stole his food. As he sat alone in the dark kitchen (the electricity had been cut off), he heard a voice in the darkness say, “You know that was wrong.”

That warning didn’t stop Reginald’s downward spiral. Des­perate for money, he robbed a bank, at gunpoint. Despite the letter he’d written the judge in advance of his hearing, asking for mercy, 19-year-old Reginald Foreman was sentenced to 18½ years; nine years at the state penitentiary for robbery, and 9½ years in federal prison for armed robbery – to be served consecu­tively, not concurrently.

Reginald began his state prison term, and depression set in. He was contemplat­ing suicide when his grandma reminded him to pray. He did. He also began attend­ing a Bible study. It wasn’t long before he put his faith in Christ. Fortunately, an old­er inmate took him under his wing. When Reginald learned he had missed his window of opportunity to file an appeal, this Hispanic brother told him, “Now you will see God’s power be­cause you have no way out.”

God Makes a Way

After serving 4½ years at the state penitentiary, an oppor­tunity to appeal miraculously opened. Reginald won! He ex­pected to be sent to federal prison next, but on the day of his release, he was taken to the Greyhound station and set free. Knowing he needed some accountability if he hoped to stay out of trouble, Reginald contacted an aunt in St. Louis, a true Christ-follower who helped him stay spiritually grounded.

Reginald got a job and was actively involved in his church. For three years, he lived in freedom; working, serving and de­veloping close relationships.

God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways

One day, out of the blue, a federal marshal knocked on his door. “You were let out of prison erroneously,” he explained. Reginald should never have been released. He would have to return and serve his federal sentence.

Reginald was devastated. Just when things seemed to be go­ing in the right direction, everything crumbled once again. He was so angry, he sat in his cell going crazy at God, yelling:

“Where were you when my mother was beating me?”

“Where were you when I was getting chased home every day after school?”

“Where were you when I was hungry?”

God quietly replied, “I have a purpose for it all.”

Then God sent a group of older men to pour all His good­ness into Reginald’s life. When the opportunity to appeal his federal sentence came, Reginald once again won and served a reduced sentence. By God’s grace, his 19½ year sentence be­came 8½ years actual time served.

A Fresh Start

Back in St. Louis he found a job working for a print shop. He had hidden abilities as an artist and writer which his stepmom encouraged him to use. Reginald started designing t-shirts and rubbing shoulders with those in the fashion world. He was invited to tell his story at a Christian comedy show. God had been pestering him to write a book about his story, but Reginald kept running from it. Finally, in 2015, his book Live Determined: Don’t Let Your Struggles Bully Your Dreams was in print. Speaking opportunities opened up on TBN and other Christian networks.

In the meantime, Reginald met Tiffany. Despite words of caution spoken into his life, and his own misgivings, he looked past his concerns (as love does) and married her. They lost their first child to a miscarriage. The loss was so devastating, they were hesitant to try again. But when his wife came to him, ex­plaining that God had reassured her they would have twins, Reginald was willing to try again.

It wasn’t long before the doctor confirmed God’s promise. Reginald was hoping children would bring some stability to their strained marriage, help silence the fighting. Sadly, 17 weeks into the pregnancy, Tiffany’s water broke. They lost their little girl. At 27 weeks, their baby boy’s heartbeat was compro­mised and Jeremiah was delivered by c-section.

Jeremiah was born with cerebral palsy. The sorrow of losing two children and the added stress of caring for a child with unique needs was nearly unbearable. Anyone who’s lost a child understands the toll it can take on a marriage. Reginald knew Tiffany was exhausted and hurting. He wanted to be her strength and encouragement. But in time, he and his wife divorced. She moved in with her father and Reginald suddenly had no home. He slept on friends’ couches and in their basements for two years. All the while, God was reshaping Reginald’s purpose.

He was chasing success and, by the world’s standards, had achieved it. He gave it up to chase after what God intended for him – ministry.

Reginald is a free man now. He has been freed from prison bars, freed from anger and violence, and freed from condem­nation. He is free to minister to and serve others wherever God leads him. His life has been riddled with violence, imprison­ment, losses and sorrows, but God used every ache to mold a man wholly devoted to His Savior. You can learn more about his ministry at reginaldforeman.com.