With a medical retirement from the U.S. Army, Sergeant John Kadleck faced some weighty decisions. Where could his family live and thrive, and what was his next step in life?
Born in Garland, Texas, Kadleck is a self-described military brat who grew up living all over the U.S., and the military shaped his life. He graduated from an Alexandria, Virginia, high school and then attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, majoring in Theological Studies with a minor in Christian Counseling. He served 24 years in the military, with six in the U.S. Marine Corps and 18 in the U.S. Army. Kadleck finished two U.S. Army tours in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2008, and one tour in Iraq from 2005 to 2006.
“Growing up, I lived all over Texas,” says Kadleck, who felt like Texas was the place to put down roots. “My in-laws were in Tomball. So, my wife Erin and I decided to move to the area to be close to family for support during my transition to civilian life.”
A Lifeline
But their initial move into a Texas community left the family in a quandary: insurmountable challenges in housing options and education choices for their children. So, Kadleck applied to Operation Finally Home (OPFH) in hopes of finding a feels-like-home neighborhood where the children’s needs could be met.
Established in 2005 and based in New Braunfels, OPFH is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that provides custom-built, mortgage-free homes, transitional housing, and home modifications to veterans, first responders, and surviving spouses. OPFH has completed, and is working on, over 520 projects in 40 states.
The Kadleck family waited to hear from OPFH for three months. Then they got word that the nonprofit would host them at a Houston Texans game, where they honored Kadleck for his service. But during the game, OPFH also surprised the family by announcing their selection to receive a mortgage-free home in The Woodlands.
“We knew that God had answered our prayers,” says Kadleck, who is now a Wounded Warrior Project peer leader specialist in Houston. “It was like God said, ‘I got this. Just keep pursuing what I called you to do,’ which was to minister to other veterans and glorify Him.”
OPFH arranged for the Kadlecks to build a home in The Woodlands’ May Valley. The family was thrilled with the possibilities and all of The Woodlands’ amenities.
Loss of Personal Identity
However, Kadleck’s transition from military to civilian life was rough.
“I battled drug and alcohol addiction and physical pain from my injuries sustained during combat,” says Kadleck. “But mostly I struggled with the loss of identity I felt when I took off that military uniform for the last time. For 24 years, being a soldier was my identity. It came before everything else—my family, my marriage, and even my own individual identity.”
Reconnecting with God
So, Kadleck circled back to his long-held belief in God.
“But I did not have a true relationship with my Lord and Savior,” he says. “I knew about Him, but I didn’t know Him. I felt like because of choices I made, in and out of the military, I was not worthy of Him caring about me.”
As Kadleck learned about grace and the gospel of Jesus Christ, he developed a deeper understanding that he was not, nor would he ever be, worthy of God’s grace and forgiveness. Those were gifts that he needed to receive rather than work to achieve.
“Through lots of therapy, church, and spending time in prayer and the scriptures, I developed a relationship with Jesus, and I found the healing that I had previously been searching for through drugs and alcohol,” says Kadleck.
These days, Kadleck has a new personal identity in life. And for almost eight years now, his family has been thriving in their home in The Woodlands. He describes OPFH as being the “hands and feet of Jesus” because they assisted his family, and countless others, who would have otherwise been financially crippled because of critical housing issues.
To learn more about Operation Finally Home, visit OperationFinallyHome.org.
“We knew that God had answered our prayers.” - John Kadleck