Bellybutton

Being born premature was Danny’s first battle. Against all the odds, he clung on to life with every heartbeat. Delivered from the safety of his mother’s womb into the arms of a sinful world. Through a small hole in his incubator, his mum would reach out to touch his tiny, undeveloped hands. For weeks this would be there only contact and through this and his will to survive, Danny and his mother established a beautiful bond.

Raised in a typical West Indian family in the heart of the East London. His mum who can best be described as a God fearing, Catholic woman, first introduced Danny to God, through daily bible teachings. Though he knew of God, he never had a relationship or ever felt the need to call upon his name.

From humble beginnings, he soon earned his stripes through to adulthood, becoming a loving husband and devoted father. Danny had all that he needed, the house, the car, decent job. He was content with the cards; life had dealt him, until… Now there was a day that Satan (the adversary) appeared before God in heaven and challenges God that if given permission to punish the man, he will turn and curse God to his face.

Following the sudden death of his beloved mother, all that Danny had loved and cared for was taken from him. Losing himself in his mourning, he then declared war by cursing the world and everything in it, including himself. Abandoning his faith, he turned his back on his creator, slipping into a sea of darkness, shadowed by sex, drugs & alcohol, all that his flesh desired. Struggling to accept his circumstances, he reached out to the spirit of his mother for comfort, only to find something dark and sinister. Falling to his knees, for the first time in his life, Danny cried out to the LORD.

As an unsigned author, I can honestly say that I have definitely grown creatively within my new found role. What started off as a means to vent my inner emotions, has embarked me on a life’s work journey, that has undoubtedly been spiritually driven and has taken me the best part of 13 years to complete, so you can imagine, a lot of blood sweat & tears. Therapeutic at times but also extremely challenging, taking me back to past memories which I had long forgotten. I remember the first time I put pen to paper, I literally had no idea where to start, let alone creating a middle or end. Lying on my bed at night with note pad in hand, I began to pray, asking the Lord to help me, to selectively choose a starting point, before I knew it I had written three full pages. During the course of 13 years I devoted my time to understand Gods word, not just reading the Bible but actually studying it from a Hebrew perspective and in doing so i was able to find my creator, my Elohim.

If I was writing about a particular time for example when myself and my mates, getting drunk or high in a nightclub, deliberately I would make sure that I had a few stiff drinks before I began writing, so if at times the dialog comes across sloppy, now you know. I guess it was my way of re-living the moment. I hope you enjoy.