Broken Dreams, Fulfilled Promises

By Carolyn Ros

When Johan Ros lost his memory following a brain tumor, he did not recognize his wife Carolyn or his children. But amazingly, Johan still knew who Jesus was. In this moving story, we follow Carolyn in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576584577
• ISBN13: 9781576584576
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: YWAM Publishing
• Length: 159 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great story of life and love!!!

I heard this story from Carolyn herself while having tea with her and her husband at their house in Amsterdam. Reading the book has been a great reminder of God's love and his passion for us. As she writes in Broken Dreams, God has plans that are for sure pretty hard to understand but for those who persevere, there is a promise of fulfillment at the end of the path. Great Book. Five stars for this awesome story that shows who God is. Congrats Carolyn.

a moving and inspiring story

I was very encouraged and inspired by reading this book. I had ordered it online and on the day it arrived I was especially busy and tired, and it was late in the evening when I opened the package (that the book was in). I went into my kitchen to do a few things, and began reading the book there. It was so hard to put down that I stood for several minutes, reading. I went into my living room and sat down, continuing to read. It was so hard to put down that I read almost the entire book before I went to bed that night. I finished the book the next day & I also read through it a second time that following week. Carolyn Ros was so honest, real & genuine in what she wrote, in describing how difficult this experience was - but also in expressing what a tremendous difference her - and her family's - faith made in giving them all they needed to cope as they lived through this experience. Also, from having read it, I think she is very talented as a writer. I strongly recommend this excellent book!

A truly inspirational story

Broken Dreams, Fulfilled Promises takes you through the journey that Carolyn & Johan Ros lived. It is the story of a family whose lives are ripped apart by circumstances beyond their control and then brought back together through their faith in the Lord. I know both Carolyn and Johan personally and thought I knew their story. But after reading Broken Dreams, Fulfilled Promises I learned so much more about their experience and I was truly moved by their faith in the Lord and their perserverence through extreme adversity. They never gave up knowing that the Lord had a plan for them. They went through a very dark time as a family and came through it with a very bright future. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to be inspired and who wants to experience a miracle.

A powerfull display of God's grace

Through reading this powerful story, we'll witness the reality of the living Christ magnified in a life that can boast of nothing but God's abundant grace displayed in broken dreams and fulfilled promises. When the sight of a strong, valiant husband reduced to insignificance because of violent epilepsy attacks becomes unbearable, Carolyn's first aid includes prayer and a request to God, his Creator, to spare him. In her shaken spirit, she cries out to the Lord for consolation and comfort. As the tears flow over the years, the words of God--especially the Psalms--become the confession of her heart. Here is found the proclamation of hope for just one more day, the declaration of faithfulness that our heavenly Father does see her sorrow, and grief over the loss of the husband she had once known. How easy it would be for her to be caught up in a spiral of self-pity and bemoan all the lost opportunities. Yet, she chooses not to focus on the difficulty of her circumstances but on God, Jesus Christ and the promises in His Word. The ending of the book enlightens us with Johan's awakening: the return of authentic memories, the regaining of his identity and vocabulary, the investment of his energy into sharing his faith with others and the showing of his love and care for Carolyn and their four grown-up children. Carolyn finally encourages us by pointing back to the strong supporting pillars of life without which no one can withstand the pain and pressure we all go through in this life. Applying it to her own journey, she says, "These pillars have stood firm, upholding us and helping us to transform our lives."

God's Promises

Carolyn Ros' lovely, deep meditation on what we do when the healing process in our lives takes time revolves around her husband, Johan's brain surgery to correct a life-threatening aneurysm. Though the operation was successful in saving his life, Johan suffered a loss of language and cognitive abilities that turned a strapping take-charge Green Beret into a man struggling to form a sentence. Carolyn was left with 3 small children and a husband who seemed fine to look at but whose cognative and emotional life were a mere wisp of his former self for many years. But even at his least responsive, Johan never forgot the name of Jesus nor His sovereignty. Using Scriptures from her daily journal throughout the years of Johan's recovery and ultimate restoration, Carolyn reminds us of God's promise, not to take away all our pain but to walk with us through it. It is a triumphant and a richly poetic book about how God's Word is the rock upon which we rebuild our lives, and the stones for the building.