“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
Derek Morrison in his book, “Luck, Coincidence or Providence?,” challenges Job’s statement by asserting that we should trust in God’s providence.
Morrison, who is of Afro-Caribbean descent, was fostered in 1964 at nine months old, into a loving white, atheist family, who lived in outer London. His memoir looks back and joins up the dots of his life through racism, riots, and reggae to faith.
Morrison’s love for reggae music introduced him to the Rastafarian faith which he embraced. Music, nightlife, Rastafarianism, and marijuana became the center of his life.
As they talked, it became apparent that Michael was once deeply into reggae music and the associated lifestyle. However, he had given all of that up to fully commit himself to God and the Seventh-day Adventist faith he came to embrace.
Rastas believe that the late Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (1930-1974), was the black man’s messiah, a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Michael asked, “If Selassie were the reincarnation of Jesus, why did he come back to earth?”
Morrison could not fathom why Gus, his mentor, failed to give a satisfactory answer. Michael then spoke about the Second Coming of Christ and concluded by inviting Gus and Morrison to church. They agreed to meet early Saturday morning on Feb. 28, 1981, near Gus’ house. However, on the 28th, Michael and Morrison turned up, but Gus was nowhere to be seen, so the trip to church was quickly abandoned.
The Lord worked seven times, and in providential ways, between his first visit to church in June/July to his baptism on Sept. 26, 1981.
The amazing capstone came after Morrison had tried, in vain, to have Sabbaths off from work. His manager had told him he could not, and that they would not make exceptions to the company policy to allow this, especially for just one individual. This meant that Morrison had to use a half-day of his vacation for the 15 Fridays when sunset occurred before close of business. But for some “strange reason” the company announced that everybody would be off, because the company would be closing sooner on Fridays.
Morrison’s foster parents never accepted Jesus and have passed away. However, he often wondered how he could reach his white, foster siblings who didn’t believe. That is when he was inspired to write and self-publish his memoir, and give a copy to his siblings as Christmas presents. Morrison believes that if you look back, connect your dots, write your story, and self-publish it, it will be a powerful way to share your testimony with people who are usually hard to reach. Many will read your book, about you, because you have written it.
