Mickey Garverick felt helpless and alone as he sat in the waiting room at Travis Air Force Base Hospital in California. In surgery was his 11-year-old son, Richard, in the hands of an Air Force neurosurgeon. How could this be? Mickey, who commanded naval ships, had no command of this situation. All he could do was wait. He had always been churched, but in his Methodist church being a Christian was not a personal thing. You went to church, you worked in the church, you taught ... but at this moment none of that mattered. His precious son had fallen through a roof suffering a fractured skull and accompanying hematoma and was in grave danger. As he waited through those long hours with nowhere else to turn, he cried out to the Lord for help.

The Lord heard Mickey's desperate plea and brought Richard through that critical time. , Mickey's heart was forever changed.

Born in Washington, DC, Mickey Garverick is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. As a career naval officer, he and his wife, Ruth, also a DC native, lived in 20 different places. In 1979, their 21st move brought them back "home."  They settled at last in Fairfax, VA. Both are active members of Burke Community Church where Mickey serves as a trustee, works with the building program, coordinates the Crown Financial Ministry, and assists Ruth with the prayer chain. They have three children – Richard, Karen, and Paul – and five grandchildren.

Mickey has been involved in music activities since junior high school. He played trombone through high school and the Naval Academy. In 1961, the musically inclined Executive Officer aboard his destroyer put together a chorus of 30 men; and that got Mickey singing. He has sung in church choirs and, in 1986, at the urging of his choir director, auditioned and joined the baritone section of The National Christian Choir.

To Mickey, The National Christian Choir is therapeutic. It doesn't matter how tired or how stressed he is, NCC rehearsals always make him feel uplifted. He is a firm believer in the old adage that when you sing you pray twice. He really appreciates The Choir's family orientation. Like other singers' spouses, Ruth accompanies him to concerts and on tours and is a faithful volunteer at the CD table. Among Mickey's fondest memories of his years in The Choir are singing at the National Cathedral in Washington, at the Crystal Cathedral, and for Lingoner Ministries in Florida. In addition, he was instrumental in The Choir's singing at James Dobson’s Focus on the Family in Colorado.

What does a career military man do after he retires? Mickey is Executive Director of the Naval Submarine League. The League has 3,200 members and a staff of five, and Mickey says with a twinkle that he gets to work with his old buddies. In addition, he has been active in the Officers Christian Fellowship for 34 years.

It has been many years since Richard's accident; but even today he says if that's what it took to lead his dad to the Lord, it was worth it.