At a banquet at the Saskatchewan legislature, eleven MLAs heard a man who lost his family and career, spiraled into addiction, and found faith and redemption..Randy Mackinson shared his story at the 27th annual Full Gospel Businessmen’s Banquet on May 9. He grew up in Winnipeg, and was married to his high school sweetheart for 25 years. When she left him and asked for a divorce, he compared the feeling to when his mother died. However, the emptiness lasted longer..“I had a great job rebuilding race car engine for three decades. I loved doing it. But even that desire for work just didn't seem appealing. And I struggled after working eight to 10 hour days and coming home, and put the key in the door- dead silence,” Mackinson told the audience..“I struggled going to family events. My brothers and my sister always invited me to a barbecue or whatever, I would just have every excuse not to come. I didn't feel like it.”.He recalls going to bars four nights per week “wanting to meet someone, but not trusting... Trying to find a suitable partner in a bar is like trying to find a diamond in a sewer. You just ain't going to find it.”.At the age of 50, Mackinson tried drugs for the first time. He became addicted to crack cocaine almost instantly. Five stints in detox centres failed to give him lasting freedom. He would go for days without sleep doing drugs at night, then going to work. Eventually the owner fired him..“He says, ‘I hate to do this, but I gotta let you go. You've been an asset for 30 years, but in the last two years, you're now a liability. There's race car engines that are blowing up on the race track and we're tracing it back to your inability to do your job.”.Mackinson was $50,000 in debt and hadn’t paid the power bill in six months. His weight fell to 127 pounds..“And the night I wanted to commit suicide, I got a phone call from my sister, someone who had been my rock in my life at that time.’”.She told him an old friend phoned for the first time in 30 years and told her about a Christian addiction recovery program in Allan, Saskatchewan called Teen Challenge. Mackinson was not a person of faith, nor did he like the idea of going there as a 51-year-old. But their proven track record of permanent recovery drew him in..Mackinson said ten days into the program, “I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.” Having received forgiveness, he realized after a few months he needed to offer the same to his ex-wife..“It was like a thousand pound burden just came off my shoulders. It's a weight that I couldn't carry,” Mackinson recalled. “It was just like a huge relief. And it opened up my heart.”.When Mackinson decided not to return to Winnipeg, Don Morgan, a long-serving MLA, was the lawyer that gave his sister power of attorney to sell the house. The proceeds covered all of Mackinson’s debts. He named another MLA, the late Serge Leclerc, for helping him in his recovery..“I don't know if I'd be alive today if it wasn't for Serge because I needed this program and Serge was our director. And he said, 'Never give up. Never give up. There is hope, and it's through Jesus Christ that your life can change and transform.' I didn't believe it when I first walked into Teen Challenge.”.Mackinson traded restoring engines to restoring people. After his graduation he became an employee of Teen Challenge and also remarried. He says the biblical promise, “I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten,” has come true in his life. He turns 67 this month and continues to work for Teen Challenge in Saskatchewan..“I have spent the last 15 years just searching for the things of God that I never understood before, understanding God's love and His grace and His mercy.”.Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit, who helped host the event, was Leclerc’s seatmate in the legislature. He appreciated Mackinson’s story..“It's always encouraging to hear somebody who's gone through difficult times and come out the other side,” said Ottenbreit, who thought other MLAs also benefitted..“Especially in these times, everybody needs some encouragement. And if they can get encouragement through a faith-based story, all the better.”
