Surrendered Hearts {Book Review}

I first met Lori Schumaker online in 2016 when we were both asked to contribute to a new Christian website called Blessed Transgressions. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her in person, I enjoyed getting to know her through her blog, where I found encouragement and hope that transferred into my own life.

I knew Lori had an adoption story and I had read portions she shared with her readers. But when I read that she was looking for help in launching her new book Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust, I was happy to sign up. I knew I wanted to read more about her story.

I am not an adoptive parent, nor has my family been blessed by adoption. However, I know how hard it can be to trust God with everything you have, including your child. I’ve felt the emotions of not being able to see how a situation can possibly work out, and of struggling to let go of what I want for what He wants. I imagine you know the feeling too.

Different stories. Different situations. Different outcomes. Different seasons of life.

Same wonderful loving God who loves His children more than we can comprehend. {Tweet this}

What I found as I read Surrendered Hearts is that Lori’s transparent story of love, trust, and patience isn’t just for adoptive families…it’s for everyone. Her story kept me engaged, and the Biblical truths she shared spoke to my heart.

A few of my favorite quotes from Surrendered Hearts:

“Control and trust do not exist simultaneously. Life is a series of taking control of the situations we can and letting go of what we cannot.”

“Peace would follow when I walked God’s journey instead of my own.”

“Sometimes we get to see the why behind the wait. But other times we don’t. We must surrender any right to know the why and choose to unconditionally accept life as it is. We must believe that even in situations that feel desperately unfair, God is making all things right.”

And…

More about Surrendered Hearts (from Amazon):

A lifetime of knowing. Decades of praying. Years of paperwork, research, and planning. Lots of tears. And the growing of faith in the waiting.

One look into a pair of sparkling brown eyes, and Lori and Bryan Schumaker fell head-over-heels in love with a beautiful young girl in Bulgaria. Certain this was the child God intended for them, they stepped confidently into the adoption process they'd been preparing for. They thought they knew what to expect, and they did—but there was so much more.

The application process moved smoothly ahead, and they began making plans for their daughter--only to be informed she'd been adopted by a family in Italy. Heartbroken, they struggled to move on, until, through a series of incredible events, they learned their daughter still languished in her Bulgarian orphanage. Turning heaven and earth, the Schumakers started over. Mix-ups, red tape, inexplicable delays, and a difficult judge threatened the adoption, but they were determined to bring their child home.

In a true story of learning that trust means surrendering your version of how the story should unfold, Lori and Bryan finally let go—of their dream, of their daughter, of their fears and frustrations. And in that relinquishment, God began to move.

For more information and to order Surrendered Hearts, please visit Lori at LoriSchumaker.com.

What are you currently reading?

In Christ,

Laura

[Photo credit: Lori Schumaker]

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