5 things to know about the late Michael Reagan: 'I was a chosen one'
3. Reagan's wife brought him to Christ: 'I was pushing Him away'
Reagan married his second wife, Colleen, in 1975, whom he credits with bringing him to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Michael had kept his abuse hidden even from her, fearing she would leave him if she knew. But his trauma began to resurface when their son, Cameron, reached the age he was when he was abused. He said the fear his secret might be exposed lingered well into his adulthood, especially as his father became more famous.
As he grew increasingly angry toward his family and God, his wife confronted him in 1985.
"Colleen walked in one day and said, 'What are you doing? I'm getting so tired of you blaming God, cussing God, yelling at God for everything that's going on in your life. It's about time you begin asking God for help.' In 1985, it's the first time I really said, 'OK, I'll ask God for help and see what He does,' because I was pushing Him away."
Still secretly believing himself to be hopelessly damned, Michael knelt by his bed in tears that year and prayed to accept Jesus Christ, which he describes as the moment he became "twice adopted" — the title of his 2004 memoir.
His faith brought profound peace and a sense of true identity, which afforded him the ability to begin healing from the pain in his past. He finally told his wife about his childhood abuse and began to further process it when he started writing On the Outside Looking In.
Not until 1987, when Michael was in his 40s and his father was in the White House, did he disclose to him what had happened, shortly before his book was published.
"Where's this guy? I'll kick his butt," Ronald Reagan reportedly said when he learned.
Michael told CBN he came to believe God allowed him to experience the pain he did so he could help others.
"There will always be pain, but I think also God has allowed me to show the pain so that, when I give my testimony, it brings other people forward," he said.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
