From Orphan to Father : A Fathers story of warfare, freedom, and Inheritance

This book was not written to make me look good. It was written to make Jesus known. Every chapter you will read points back to Him. Every scar I confess, every mistake I lay bare, every victory I claim—it all testifies to His mercy. Without Him, I would have been lost to the same curses that swallowed generations before me. With Him, I have been restored, redeemed, and set free.

I want you to know the truth about where you came from. Not to burden you, but to prepare you. Not to shame you, but to strengthen you. Because whether you realize it now or not, you are part of a story bigger than yourself. You carry both the scars of your bloodline and the blessings of your God. And my hope is that this book will help you choose blessing every single time.

As you turn these pages, you will read about foster care, fatherlessness, addiction, poverty, gangs, prison, witchcraft, and heartbreak. You will also read about miracles, awakenings, prayers answered, chains broken, and legacies rebuilt. That is the tension of my life—pain and promise woven together, curse and covenant colliding, darkness and light at war. And through it all, God has been faithful.

Why write this now? Because I don’t know how much time I have. None of us do. Life is fragile, and tomorrow is never promised. I don’t want to leave this earth with these stories untold, these warnings unspoken, these blessings unsealed. If one day you are looking for answers, if one day you are searching for your place in the world, if one day you are tempted to believe the lies of the enemy about who you are, I want this book to shout back at you: You are chosen. You are covered. You are blessed.

To my grandchildren: I never want you to feel like I felt as a boy—unwanted, unclaimed, forgotten. That is not your inheritance. You are not abandoned. You are not fatherless. You are not cursed. You are loved, covered, and destined for greatness in Christ. This book is your reminder when you forget, your compass when you’re lost, your anchor when the storm rages.

To anyone else who may read this: I pray you find yourself somewhere in these pages. Maybe you are the child who was abandoned. Maybe you are the parent who has failed. Maybe you are the one tangled in cycles of sin, wondering if freedom is even possible. My answer is simple: yes, it is. Not because of me, but because of Jesus. If He could redeem me, He can redeem you. If He could break my chains, He can break yours. If He could restore my bloodline, He can restore your family too.

This book is not about shame. It is about testimony. The Bible says, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (Revelation 12:11). These are my words, soaked in His blood, written so that you and your children’s children might walk in triumph instead of defeat.

So read these chapters slowly. Read them prayerfully. Let them sink deep. Let them remind you that your story is still being written. And let them always point you back to the One who carried me through every storm: Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

This is our legacy. This is our story. And by God’s grace, this is only the beginning.

With love and faith,

Derick Dorice Johnson Blakes