Morning Has Broken: A True Story

By Dotty J. Edgerton

The  summer of 1972  was  the  happiest  life had  ever been for sixteen-year-old Dotty Johnson.  She had found her soul mate,  and   life  seemed  almost  perfect,  until  the  awful  news ........ her family was moving again.  She would be leavi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dotty J. Edgerton
• Release date: Nov 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780578610276

Dotty J. Edgerton

Dotty J. Edgerton is a mother, a wife, and a warrior. She has been through many physical and emotional battles and has overcome them. She was struck by lightning at the age of six, lived in an abusive marriage for over twenty-eight years, and was on life support after a head on vehicle accident that caused a traumatic brain injury. She became an author and speaker to share her story and experiences, and to give hope and inspiration. Her purpose is to write for the glory of God and to help others have a closer walk with Him. She has discovered that even the most despairing circumstances can be turned around when we change our thoughts and attitudes. She has learned that all of life is better when she's focused on Jesus Christ, her Saviour and Healer.

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Chapter One

Calvin and I were teenagers when we first met. We were both sixteen years old. Calvin was living in New Bern, North Carolina and had lived there since he was about nine years old. I moved there from Texas in the winter of 1972, my sophomore year in high school. My family settled in a small neighborhood known as Sunnyside. It was a nice neighborhood, and a church was within walking distance of our house. The church, then known as National Avenue Baptist Church, is where I met Calvin. We became good friends. We were members of the church youth group, and we sang in the youth choir: The Glory Singers.

My family had moved from place to place all my life. Dad was an electrician and followed large construction jobs across the country. We had lived in North Carolina before but never in New Bern. We had also lived in Kentucky, Virginia, Florida, Alabama, and dozens of other places. However, Dad did not move to New Bern for a construction job. For some reason, he decided to try life in that small town by the water. Climbing ladders had gotten to be a challenge for him. He was sixty-one years old by then and was beginning to think he needed to make some changes. So, he got a job selling hand cleaner to mechanic shops.

I remember thinking New Bern was the greatest place of all. I loved the school, the neighborhood, the church, the people, and I had found my soul mate - Calvin.

I thought, wow! I am sixteen years old, and the happiest I have ever been!

I wasn’t perfect, but I had given my heart to Christ at the age of fourteen while attending a Nicky Cruz crusade in Wilmington, North Carolina. I was there with the youth group from Bethel Baptist Church of Southport, where we were living at that time.

In New Bern I was satisfied that we were living in a community where I could enrich my life with Christ and be committed to my walk with God.

I was from a large family: four sisters, three brothers, and a mom and dad who were the best in the world. Money was scarce, but love was abundant. Almost everywhere we lived, Dad would rent a home near a church, insisting that his children attend Sunday school. Mom stayed home to prepare the Sunday dinner, and it was Dad’s day of rest.

Calvin’s home life was more difficult. He had an older brother, a younger sister, and a hard-working mom whom he loved dearly. But he also had a step dad who ruled with an iron hand and often treated Calvin unfairly. Calvin’s biological father had deserted them when Calvin was only six months old.

Life was hard to understand, but Calvin was determined to make it the best he could. He spent much of his time riding his bike, and he got a job delivering newspapers when he was twelve years old. He stayed away from home as much as possible; taking adventures around town or down by the waterfront.

He and his brother were very close and spent their time exploring the outdoors. They knew if their step dad was home there would be much despair. He was often verbally abusive and insisted that Calvin and his brother would never amount to anything.

In June of 1972, Calvin and I began driver’s education together. I walked to class, and Calvin rode his bike. He would ride me home on the handlebars, and as he told me many years later, he loved the way my hair flowed gracefully through the wind. We were so in love, and things were going really well for us. I was completely content. We attended many church functions together, participated in fundraisers for the youth choir, and traveled to other churches to sing. Life was good, exciting, and absolutely wonderful. Calvin and I agreed- we were soul mates.

I was always in a great state of joy when he was around. I loved to hear him sing and play his guitar. I remember the time we were sitting on a picnic table, no one else around, and he sang Morning Has Broken. I never forgot that day or that song. I did not know it then, but many days would come and go when I would need to recall the words of the song and the feeling I had when I was with him. They would provide much needed hope in the battlefield ahead.

One Saturday evening, Dad came home with the news that we would be moving again. He had found a home in Fayetteville with a storage building he could use for the hand cleaner, and Fayetteville was full of mechanic shops. We needed to move right away so we could get settled before school started back.

I was devastated. Dad, I can’t believe this! We have our friends and church, and this is a great school, and I haven’t even finished driver’s ed! I don’t want to move anymore!

Nevertheless, it had to be done. Dad was trying to make a living.

I was torn and brokenhearted. How could life feel so right and so good and be ripped right out from under me? I remember that Saturday night. I was so angry at God. My family went to bed, but I could not sleep. It was dark and raining. I got up, slipped out the back door, and sat on the stoop with just a small roof overhead. Tears were pouring down my face, and it was raining all around me. I silently shouted, Why, God? How could You do this? You could have given my dad a job here! It’s not fair! Why, God? Why?

I spent quite a while there; pouring my heart out and realizing that tomorrow would probably be my last Sunday at National Avenue Baptist Church. Whenever Dad would say, We’re moving, we would have everything packed and be gone within a week. It had happened many times before.

Would I ever see Calvin again? I made my way back to bed. The tears had finally subsided, and I had been mad at God long enough. I needed to get some sleep so I would be able to go to Sunday school the next morning, for the last time at National Avenue.

That Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the weather was pleasant, but I could only think about the fact that I had to leave the one place that I wanted, with all my heart, to be my home. This would be my last Sunday at the best church I had ever attended. I remember walking to church by myself that morning, in deep despair. I couldn’t believe how things were turning upside down. I don’t remember what was said in class that morning, and Calvin wasn’t there. But one thing I will never forget; as I walked out of Sunday school, I headed towards home. I didn’t want to stay for church service. Then a clear, small voice spoke, Stay for church. I stopped and was stunned. I don’t remember anything like that before.

Is that You, God?

Again, He spoke, Go back, and stay for church. I had a strong feeling I should, so I did.

I went in, took a seat near the front, and then Pastor Hays came in. I remember it so very well. There was a song and then a welcome, and then he came up to the podium with such a puzzled look and said, I had planned to speak from the book of Isaiah this morning, but God has laid something else on my heart. I need to speak about never asking God why. I don’t recall a lot about that service, but never ask God why rang over and over in my mind. I was truly astounded.

I thought, Yes, that small voice was Yours God, and I will never regret being obedient to it. And it was You God, who laid that message on the pastor’s heart. And thank You that he was obedient. It was You that knew my anger the night before and my demand to know why. This has made You very real to me. You do have a plan and I’m willing to be Yours, God. My silent conversation went on and on, and I left church with a new attitude and a strong desire to be obedient. God is with us, He knows our hearts, our hurts and pains. And He will be profound with those whom He needs to use for His purpose.

We left New Bern that week. As we were pulling out of the driveway, Calvin came up on his bike and said to Dad, Can I tell Dotty good-bye?

Dad stopped the car. I got out, Calvin put his arms around me, we kissed, and he said, I love you. I love you too, I said.

Chapter Two

We moved into a house on Raeford Road in Fayetteville. There was a church within a block from our home. I went there one Sunday. No one was friendly, and I never went back.

I got in the driver’s education class at the local high school, finished the class session and started driving. Raeford Road was six-lanes and heavily traveled. I was a bit nervous about pulling out of the driveway onto a