Repositioned: Here to Heir

By Agatha K. Marcelle

This book dispels the myth that to be successful one must live personal and professional aspects of one's life in separate silos, and it reinforces the power of individual choice.

• Childhood interests and activities are strong indicators of the path you will take in life. Pay attention to them; they will help you find your way to your

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Nov 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887382098

Agatha K. Marcelle

AGATHA K. MARCELLE is an expert human resources and public policy professional, facilitator, trainer, motivational speaker, lecturer, conference presenter, and former member of the Bahamas parliament. Driven by her passion and determination to help people discover their best selves and achieve their fullest potential, Ms. Marcelle has authored two other books and shares foundations and patterns that help individuals discover and walk in God's purpose for their lives, enabling them to live productive, successful lives.

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repositioned

Here

to

Heir

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AGATHA K. MARCELLE

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Repositioned: Here to Heir

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2022 by Agatha K. Marcelle

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-208-1

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-209-8

Dedication

Tthis book is dedicated, in the first instance, to the memory of my precious parents, James and Minerva Rolle (deceased), both descendants of African slaves and Scottish/English slave owners. They never lost sight of their profound faith and belief in God and His kingdom values and did their best to instill godly values and morals in their children with prayer and godly modeling.

Photograph of an older woman in a straw hat standing next to her daughter's campaign poster

My mother… my inspiration… my role model.

From her I learned that you don’t need money or a title to be ROYAL.

You only need to be a child of God.

Secondly, to my son and only child, Kari Xavier Marcelle, whom I dedicated to the Lord when I became aware that I was pregnant because in my spiritual ignorance I was annoyed with God for putting an obstacle in my way when He knew I wanted to go to law school. I concluded that my pregnancy was His idea and as much, the child belonged to Him. The desire to bring Kari up God’s way was the catalyst that drove me to give my life finally to the Lord.

A young black reverend, wearing ornate ceremonial robes and smiling at the camera, stands in a church

My Son… my inspiration… my heartstring.

The Rev. Dr. Kari Marcelle,

D. Min., STM., M. Div., Dip. Ed., JP

Born September 11th, 1985

Acknowledgments

My heavenly Father, the source and strength of my life, Yours is the glory for the life You have blessed me with.

To everyone who has supported my work over the years, especially those who have been personally impacted in positive ways, I thank God for allowing me such a privilege.

Special thanks to Kerris, O’nea, and Margaret for typing the first draft of this work; to Isadell Howells for reading the first draft and giving me such positive feedback, and to Verneca Ferguson and Shenice Rolle, who assisted with the initial editing of the manuscript.

Sincere gratitude and thanks to Tai Rolle, whom I have dubbed agent for being by my side and coordinating and handling the publisher’s requests in a timely manner.

My respect and gratitude to all of the very special people mentioned in this book who touched my life in ways both big and small. Know that you were select vessels used by God to mold and make a better me.

Many blessings.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Foreword II

Preface

Introduction: The Islanders’ Story

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Photos

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Life Observations

About the Author

Foreword

Many expressed surprise when the media announced to the public that Agatha Marcelle had accepted the Progressive Liberal Party’s nomination as its candidate for South Beach, one of the constituencies in the Southern District of New Providence for the 2002 general elections.

It was surprising because she had never been associated with being an aspiring politician, a party member or supporter, a political activist, or with any label that would connect her with active politics. However, those close to her always knew which party’s philosophy and ideology she espoused because she always maintained that her leanings were compatible with her religious beliefs. With her, it was never about politics, it was always about nation-building and encouraging and lifting up the downtrodden and less fortunate. She always affirmed that the latter was indeed her calling and had been since she was fourteen years old.

It is fair to say that Ms. Marcelle is viewed by those who know her as an experienced, well-respected senior-level professional, a veteran human resource and quality consultant, facilitator, trainer, part-time lecturer, conference presenter, and motivational speaker. She is someone who is passionate about her relationship with God and the development of her nation and its people. There are many individuals who will attest to the fact that over the years, they have participated in one, several, or many of her training workshops, seminars, and classes, including some that she did for her church, with the general consensus being that their lives were positively impacted by her wealth of knowledge and the wisdom and understanding with which she shared her talents and gifts.

As her priest and spiritual shepherd for many years, I attest to the fact that she is a woman of prayer and great faith and is never shy or reluctant to let her faith manifest itself through her work and life. She openly acknowledges that God leads and directs her life even when she wants to do so herself. She recognizes the power of prayer and the benefits of staying connected to God even when others scoff at or belittle her beliefs and values. In whatever public forum I have seen her, she never forgets to acknowledge God and give Him credit for the life He has given her.

Photograph of a middle-aged black Reverend in his ornate ceremonial robes, standing in a church and smiling.

My prayer for this special lady is that she continues to be discerning of the Holy Spirit as she continues on the journey of the purpose that God Himself has designed for her. May she continue to "walk the talk" and be a refreshing breath of air to all who have been blessed to be touched by her and to others who may one day experience her touch.

— The Rev’d Dr. E. Etienne E. Bowleg, Phd, OBE, JP

Foreword II

Ms. Agatha Marcelle has been blessed with significant motivational and inspirational gifts. Over the years, these gifts impacted many, many individuals positively. She is a person that people are drawn to because she makes them feel important and valuable and helps them believe that they can achieve their dreams and desires if they want to badly enough. She is never reluctant to share the human interest stories she experienced at home and abroad, and she possesses the skill in storytelling to transport your imagination to the place and situation of whatever she experienced.

One of my fondest memories was attending a Motivational Evening with Ms. Marcelle and renowned motivational speaker and author Les Brown. They spoke to an electrified capacity crowd of over 1500 private and public sector professionals, and I was glad I was early because when the event began, there wasn’t even a standing room in the conference hall. It was an awesome experience to have one of our own, a Bahamian, share a stage with an American motivational speaker of the caliber of Mr. Les Brown. To see Ms. Marcelle captivate the Bahamian audience of business professionals, some of them her peers and colleagues, and to hear them applaud and celebrate her while giving her a standing ovation was an awesome experience. I was proud of her performance which was as exhilarating as his and made me very proud to be a Bahamian.

To my mind, Ms. Marcelle had made it.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Marcelle has modeled the values, morals, principles, and ideologies that she espouses. With her, what you see is what you get. She tells it like she sees it and acts upon what she sees and believes with unshakable conviction.

— Mrs. Verneca Ferguson

Sr. Human Resource Professional

Preface

Journeying through life, I am often asked the question, What would you like your legacy to be?

I’ve always found it difficult to give a glib, ready answer to this question because it really doesn’t matter to me. What matters most to me is the quality of life that I live, the positive influence that I have in impacting the lives of others; the character, principles, and values that I instilled in Kari, my son and only child, and the hope that upon my demise, I will meet my Savior and my God face-to-face and hear them say, Well done, good and faithful servant.

With regard to leaving a legacy, I’ve been around long enough and have experienced enough to know that in these modern times, people and media seem to determine who you are and what legacy you leave behind.

I am wise enough to know that when you walk in others’ will for your life, they will love you, but when you strive to walk in God’s will for your life, they have no love or time for you. Go along with the flow and you’re welcomed and accepted; swim against the current and you will find it difficult or impossible to survive unless you discern that special place of calm just outside the current’s main path. It is here that God will direct you and will reveal His purpose for your life.

When you walk in God’s will and purpose for your life, He will guide and protect you and keep you safe. This does not mean that you will be immune from troubles and disappointments and that obstacles won’t be put in your way or that people won’t try to derail you and make your life miserable.

However, according to the Word of God, as written in Romans 8:28, We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them (Tyndale Application Study Bible, New Living Translation).

This verse of Scripture has been my comfort in times of stress and distress. It assured me that God will always be faithful to His promises and, by extension, to me, as I fulfill the conditions of those promises. God has been faithful to me even when I haven’t merited or deserved it and certainly when I didn’t or couldn’t earn it. It has always been God’s hand on my life, pushing me to where He wanted me to be and pulling me back from where He didn’t want me to go, allowing things to happen in my life that would teach me wisdom and give me understanding. He alone gets the credit and the glory for my life.

I do acknowledge that He selected special people to help me along the way, people He entrusted with my care and well-being; however, my remake was all His doing.

I believe it is because of my unwavering attitude in this regard that God gave me a good life: a wonderful family, a satisfying career, the best material things, and above all, a faith that looks up to Him. Then He decided to guide my steps to the Parliament of the Bahamas, where only a comparative few get to sit. The political environment was unlike anything I had ever encountered. It was here that I came face to face with the power of manmade power and power brokers in action.

I really wondered if in such atmospheres, powerful men and women even remembered to think about God and ask Him for wisdom to lead and govern the people. They appeared so void of godliness at times, and their perceived actions often reminded me of the passage from the Bible, recorded in Ephesians, chapter six and verse twelve: For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realm. (Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation).

I often asked myself, How could someone be in politics indefinitely and see God’s face? I didn’t think it was possible, but I didn’t know for sure. I do know that I was going to be a one-term parliamentarian because I was totally uncomfortable with the role. I also knew in my spirit that God wanted me to experience all that the world had to offer and then chose whether I wanted Him or the world.

Of course, I WANTED HIM.

Introduction

the islanders’ story

Many years ago, God wanted to take a vacation somewhere on the beautiful planet Earth that He created. However, He was having a difficult time choosing which country He wanted to visit. He had made them all, but on this occasion, He surmised that none of them had all of the qualities of His desired destination. Looking around, He shivered, He did not want snow and cold; He sniffed and sniveled, He did not want rain and chill; He started fanning Himself, He did not want heat and humidity; He pulled His nebulous cloak around Himself, He did not want the windy dryness of the desert. He sat scratching His fleecy head and twisting His rainbow beard, and in a lightning flash, He thundered the words: The Bahamas, My paradise, and the beautiful islands of the Bahamas were created.

Some version of this story is often told by older Bahamians when describing the Bahamas. It is a relatively small nation comprised of some 700 islands and cays, approximately thirty of which are inhabited, located 80 km (50 miles) southeast of the coast of Florida (U.S.A) and north of Cuba.

The Bahamas is a Parliamentary Democracy (the Westminister system of governance) made up of the Senate (Upper House, appointed by the governor general) upon the advice of the prime minister and leader of the Official Opposition and the House of Assembly (Lower House, elected by the populace). The life of the Parliament is usually a five-year term, but it may be dissolved earlier by the governor general acting on the advice of the prime minister.

It was so easy to accept and believe such a story because the evidence was displayed throughout the nation in the form of a variety of beautiful islands, each boasting different scenic features, but all having everything that was needed to sustain life: lots of land to farm, bountiful seas to fish and sponge, and an abundance of delicious native fruits to reap and enjoy, yet life was hard, or so the grown-ups said.

Those grown-ups were praying people who continuously petitioned God to make life easier for their children. They went out early in the morning to fish or farm, and they returned to very modest homes late in the evening, often tired and exhausted, but never too tired to thank God and to pray for easier, better days.

God is ever faithful, ever sure, and hears the cries of those who call out to him. Over the decades, life became much easier. The Bahamas has emerged as a premier tourist vacation destination in the western hemisphere with over 80 percent of the country’s tourists/vacationers coming from the United States of America.

God in His wisdom created a special reciprocal relationship between the U.S.A. and His favorite vacation spot. He gave the Bahamas a perfect blend of weather, clear blue/green waters many beaches, white sandy ones and a few pink ones for variety. He provided the American tourist a beautiful playground with warm, friendly people to service their vacation needs, and He provided them the option to become owners of vacation homes and retirement homes in His chosen paradise. This collaborative relationship contributes to a vibrant economy for the Bahamas, which imports a substantial amount of consumer products from the U.S.

The U.S. tourists spend their money to enjoy the delights of the Bahamas, and Bahamians return the favor by importing over 80 percent of consumer goods from the U.S and by choosing the U.S as the premier destination for tertiary education for Bahamians. Such a relationship illustrates the work of an awesome God who takes care of all that He has made.

Against this backdrop, a little girl from the rural settlement of Bennetts Harbour, Cat Island, the Bahamas, born to parents of meager means, with no recognized family name of importance or social status, determines at an early age that she would be somebody. Ever since she could remember she dreamed about being a favorite of God’s, like Joseph, David, Daniel, King Solomon, and many other Bible characters.

At the age of fourteen, she made a covenant with the Lord that, if He made her somebody, she would spend the rest of her life encouraging, educating, and lifting the spirit of others throughout the length and breadth of the Bahamas. After all, Sidney Poitier, who had become a very successful actor in the U.S. and won the Academy Award for best actor in 1964, was born to parents of meager means in a little settlement about 5 miles from her settlement in Cat Island. If God could do it for him, then surely He could do it for her. Her belief in the value of biblical principles, good parenting, honest role models, and dedicated teachers helped her to understand that education, discipline, passion, and determination were the keys that unlocked the door to her successes.

Repositioned: Here to Heir illustrates what it is like to think you are in control of your life and do things your way and then have God take control of your life and do things His way.

This is a universal story with messages of inspiration, courage, hope, and faith that will resonate in the heart and spirit of anyone who reads it.

CHAPTER 1

Politics and I have always been like oil and water. We don’t mix well, not then, not now. I realize that I never had any sort of interest in politics. I never really thought about it and never, ever cared about it. I felt the same way about politicians and members of Parliament. I simply figured that a country had to have some form of government in order to provide it with stability, and if politicians had to be the ones to provide governance, then so be it.

My interest was always in Bible stories and their heroes and in songs from the old church hymnals. Even as I write, I can hear Unca Bulla’s nasal voice being carried by the wind over the pond as he belted out, I can hear my Savior calling.

I loved it back then. I loved thinking about the God who made the sun and the moon, who made bright stars and the beautiful blue and aquamarine waters that we could see from our back windows. He made trees and birds, flowers and insects, and beautiful fish that we could see from our kitchen window during spring tide when the water came right up the little rising to the foundation of our kitchen.

God was always awesome and was my Champion. He could make anything and do everything, and Momma and Daddy told us that He loved us very much and cared about our well-being. I wanted to see Him so badly and often asked to be taken to visit Him.

On the other hand, my earliest recollection of politicians and the political world was in the mid-to-late 1950s. They can be summed up in the slogan, Christie, Kelly, all the way. That was what I heard the older people like Daddy, Mr. Leonard, and Mr. Van say, only they never said it like they meant it.

They didn’t talk about them like I talked about God, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say like I talked to God. When they talked about Christie and Kelly, it was with smirks, sneers, grumblings, and complaints. They shared the view that those politicians seemed to think that island folk, especially black ones, were little more than slaves, laborers, and servants, who had to work hard all of their lives for very little and, therefore, could never accomplish very much for themselves and their families.

I remember those conversations well because grown-ups were constantly talking about how hard times were and how us children needed to take advantage of the opportunity to get the education they had not been able to have.

My momma and daddy were persistent in encouraging me and my siblings to go to school and study hard. It didn’t matter that it was only an all-age school because it was better than what they had, and it would help us to compete, if only a little bit better, in the white man’s world.

Other folk in our settlement, Bennett’s Harbour, encouraged their children to do the same. They wistfully talked about and looked forward to the days when some of the young, black sons of the soil would get the opportunity to be in government; when dem fellas, the politicians that represented Cat Island, would take their sack of flour, rice, sugar or grits and their bucket of lard and carry them where the sun never shines.

Even though I was just a child, I was curious enough to wonder why grown-ups were so contradictory. Why would they take things from people if it bothered them so much? Why not just say, No, thanks. The other thing was that whenever these same people, or their representative, came to the island, and it wasn’t very often, the folks in the settlement would be so nice to them, sucking up to them, and literally falling over themselves for a little recognition from the politicians.

I couldn’t understand this and concluded that adults were strange creatures. I purposed not to be like them. They said one thing behind your back and another thing to your face. Uncle Frank, who kept the Jumper church, would have said that they spoke blessings and curses out of the same mouth and would burn in hell’s fire.

When I was about seven or eight years old, I had seen and heard enough to make up my young mind that I didn’t like politicians and I didn’t trust old people. Politicians were patronizing and old people were two-faced.

I was not like them. I certainly would not take groceries or anything from anybody I didn’t like, and I wouldn’t laugh and be friends with them. When I talked to Daddy about this, he told me not to worry my head because that was the way of the world. He explained that that was how the people who ran the country bought the people’s vote. The politicians gave out groceries and rum and things they thought poor people needed or wanted. Because the people were poor, they felt obligated to accept the offerings. Something was better than nothing, and that’s just the way it was.

How disgusting! I was glad Momma wasn’t teaching us how to be like that. Not my momma, Menerva Rolle. She was smart and beautiful and could sing like an angel. She taught us many things about principles, values, and morals and the importance of good character. Momma used the Bible as a foundational guide to teach us children. She helped us