From Teen Challenge one day to Bethel the next
Bethel freshman Garrett Carlson faced extreme adversity like going to jail, struggling with addiction and having to adjust to life at Bethel.
By Madyson Fortier | Royal Report
Garrett Carlson’s hope grew out of one of the emptiest of places. As he looked up in his jail cell, a bright, white light pierced through the darkness.
“It’s probably not God,” he thought, but Carlson never gave up hope.
The past four days had been horrible. Jail officers took his clothes away. He’d barely eaten. Every stitch of normal was stripped away. Carlson never would have thought that in this moment and in this place, he would start to believe in the possibility of God.
It was just a party. Carlson and his friend had their fair share of drinks, and an ugly fight with an angry girlfriend sent them out the door. Garrett slid into the passenger seat of his blue Subaru WRX 2.5 RS, letting his friend drive.
They set off down Highway 12 at dangerous speeds, rounding a corner to find a cop waiting around the bend. Carlson slipped off his seat belt as the flashing lights loomed in the distance. According to Carlson, he begged his friend to hit a tree. He felt he was ready to die.
The car spun out in front of a cornfield and his friend took off running. Carlson was still in the car trying to flee the scene, but the door was pinned shut. He rolled down the window, climbed out and sprinted into a corn field.
Fleeing in a motor vehicle, two counts of driving under the influence, fleeing on foot. Carlson was the only one left at the scene to take the fall. He faced three years in prison, all because his door wouldn’t open – and everything else he’d done. This was the lowest and darkest place he could remember.
On that day, Aug. 11, 2015, his life changed. Officers brought him into a jail cell, where he would sit for 46 days.
“Visiting him in jail was so hard, hard to see his pain, his loneliness his despair.”–Jennie Lyn, grandmother of Garrett Carlson
Carlson started out on suicide watch. He had nothing, not even normal clothes. It was all to keep him safe, but felt so confining. It was during those days that he was visited by a pastor who was able to share with him about Christ. The light that he saw during those dark days was not a mistake. It was real to him. Carlson’s grandmother Jennie Lyn expressed her feelings about going to visit Carlson in jail.
“Visiting him in jail was so hard, hard to see his pain, his loneliness, his despair,” Lyn said.
Carlson stood next to the pool. It had been six days since being released from jail. More happened in jail than anyone could have ever imagined, and this moment was the culmination of all his struggles.
Lyn said that she saw a change in him that day. According to Lyn, it was more than just a regular baptism. It was a new beginning.
The next day Carlson would start his journey of rehabilitation, both physically and mentally. But today was his spiritual awakening. Coming out of that water meant being raised with Christ, a proclamation of faith that grew out of extreme darkness.
When one commits his life to faith, the next steps are some of the hardest. Carlson is well-versed in doing the right thing despite the pain. Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge, a program that helps teens and adults overcome addiction, was the next hurdle to jump over. The strict schedule was enough of a change from Carlson’s normal.
Every morning began at 6 a.m., chores to follow at 7, headcount at 7:30, chapel from 8 to 9, and a full day of classes to follow. The program that he was in took 10 months, and consisted of four levels.
The first level is a basic Bible class. The second and hardest level is working through your past and your pain. The third level is going deeper into the Bible, and the fourth level is working at transitioning back into everyday life.
“I remember all the innocence.”–Garrett Carlson, freshman
Carlson excelled throughout the program. He had a job through a program Teen Challenge started called Know the Truth. He spoke at schools, telling his personal testimony. The first time he shared was in front of a middle-school class.
“I remember all the innocence,” Carlson said.
His testimony was not allowed to be too graphic and a lot had to be omitted due to his audience.
Carlson’s mentors at Teen Challenge recognized his growth, causing them to contact a university they had worked with in the past.
From that moment, admission coordinators and coaches at Bethel University began to pray about this person they had never met.
“The idea of never playing again didn’t seem possible.”–Garrett Carlson, freshman
Bethel Football Coach Steve Johnson was scheduled to speak at MNTC chapel, like he had in years past. But this year he was also meeting with a student whose life was about to change.
Carlson went to chapel that morning and was later brought into a boardroom with Johnson to talk about the possibility of playing football for Bethel in the fall. Football was a way Carlson connected with his father, who he didn’t have the best relationship with.
“The idea of never playing again didn’t seem possible,” said Carlson.
According to Johnson, Carlson impressed him with his humility. On Aug. 12, Garrett Carlson’s life changed. Teen Challenge had been the hardest, most rewarding experience he had ever been through.
The end of this chapter was a springboard for the next. Moving into Bethel the next day meant freedom he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“Bethel has given him a chance to start over, in a sense, without the judgement, and with people his age,” Carlson’s aunt, Whitney Lyn, said.
In the first few days at football camp, others on the team supported Carlson as he shared his struggles with them. According to Johnson, he was very open and real from the start. People knew his struggles, but didn’t let those struggles define him.
“At Bethel, Garrett is finally getting to just be Garrett,” his aunt said.
