Children of Dreams

Religion & Spirituality

By Lorilyn Roberts

Publisher : Virtuabookworm.com

ABOUT Lorilyn Roberts

Lorilyn Roberts
Lorilyn is a Christian author, closed-captioner, and single mom. She adopted her two daughters from Nepal and Vietnam. Lorilyn homeschools, loves Jewish music, and enjoys traveling and scuba diving. She is also working on her Masters of Arts in Creative Writing from Perelandra College. 

Description

Did someone or something take away your dreams? Do you feel like giving up?  Are you without hope that things will ever be different? Children of Dreams will inspire you to believe in miracles.  After reading this true account of how God "restored the years the locusts had eaten," you will know God brings redemption out of loss, hope out of despair, and joy out of sorrow.  Mourning is replaced with gladness as God's love shines forth in this inspirational journey -- around the world and within the heart.  Be inspired! 

A broken marriage, years wasted, and strained family relationships are only the beginning of what makes this story miraculous. God restores so much of what was lost, and in the process, reveals how His plans far surpass anything we could hope for or want. We just have to believe in miracles!

Lorilyn Roberts seemed to have it all--an interesting life, travel adventures, a great marriage, and hopes for future children to create the perfect, happy family. Almost overnight, those hopes were destroyed when her husband left her for another woman.

At the time of her divorce, Lorilyn's husband told the judge that he had taken away her dreams, and it certainly did seem that way, particularly with the added bitter blow of her husband's new partner falling pregnant. Lori's hopes of having a "forever family" seemed remote. Instead, she found herself living the truth of Proverbs 13:12a, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick."

For eight years following her divorce, nothing filled the longing she had for children. Then in April, 1994, everything changed when Lorilyn arrived in Nepal for the final, often extremely frustrating, process of adopting her first daughter, Manisha Hope.

Although the support of Nepalese Pastor Ankit was a great blessing in organizing the adoption, the author is very honest about her fears and doubts during the time spent waiting at The Bleu hotel in Kathmandu. Both bureaucratic and local requirements made the adoption process seem painfully slow. For Lorilyn, it was often a battle to keep believing her dream was also God's plan for her life.

"God knew my heart-felt desire was to become a mother. As God longed to have a relationship with me, I wanted a little girl that I could hug, hold, kiss, teach, and spoil. God had promised to wipe away my tears when I met Him in Heaven, but I wanted Him to wipe away my tears now. It was a longing that consumed me, that spoke to my heart with every little girl I saw on the street, in the mall, or in a restaurant.

"Did God care about my dreams? Could I trust God, half a world away, that He would not abandon me? If I left Nepal without the little girl that danced in my dreams and filled me with hope, would I still love God?"


It is this soul-searching honesty throughout Children of Dreams that connects so wonderfully with the reader--all the author's pain, heartache, longing, frustration and joy. We smile with her, cry with her, and eventually, rejoice with her when she first brings Manisha home in 1994, and then finally, six years later, after even more delays and problems, when little Joy from Vietnam is added to their "forever family."

From the moment Lorilyn was blessed with the gift of her first daughter, Manisha Hope, her life changed from being an embodiment of Proverbs 13a, and instead, became the truth of Proverbs 13b: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy.

Children of Dreams is an engrossing book that captures the reader's attention right from the start and holds it through to the uplifting conclusion. It is impossible to read this book without caring for this little family. A small photo gallery at the end is an added bonus, allowing a glimpse of Manisha and Joy as they were when first adopted, and as they are now, two beautiful young ladies who are their mother's delight (and a credit to her).

As Lorilyn concludes her story, she gives praise to the One who made it all possible:

"I wouldn't trade my children for anything in the world …. As God's precious gifts, I am amazed …. how God did what was humanly impossible--without an awesome God, I wouldn't have either of my daughters!"

While writing Children of Dreams, Lorilyn asked her 17-year-old daughter what it meant to her to be adopted? Manisha's answer summed up everything about this story: "It means I didn't grow in my mommy's stomach but in her heart."

For anyone considering adopting a child from a third-world nation, this book should be required reading. It is a very honest account of the difficulties involved in the process. However, it is also an inspiring testimony to the One who is the restorer of dreams and healer of broken hearts.