God Will Restore

The Brightest Of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason is a delightful Christian historical novel set in 1919. It is the third book in the Canadian Crossings series but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces.

The story surrounds the plight of Dr Bernardo’s children who were sent from the orphanages in England to Canada. Not all the children were orphans, some were in the homes due to their parents falling on hard times. Permission to take the children overseas was not obtained. It was a shocking time in history. Susan Anne Mason has woven a marvellous fictional tale around the facts.

The reader is reminded that God wants us to take care of the widows and orphans. There are some huge hearts within the novel who open up their hearts and homes to others and who do not judge them.

There are the themes of guilt and forgiveness. Deathbed promises made before World War I intervened did not materialize. A character is weighted down with guilt and needs to forgive the face in the mirror.

Another character is also buckling under the weight of guilt and inactivity. Forgiveness needs to be given and received.

God sees all our situations. When we cannot help our loved ones, we must surrender them to His care. We can trust Him with their lives.

Faith in God is vital. God is wherever we are. “No matter where in the world he travelled, God was with him.”

Due to circumstances beyond her a control, a character battles with feelings of self-worth. “She didn’t feel worthy to ask anything of God.” God asks us to come to Him just as we are. No one is ever too far from the hand and heart of God.

Once more Susan Anne Mason has created a charming set of characters who warm the reader’s heart with their love.

The Brightest Of Dreams is a beautiful story showing how God repays the years the locusts have eaten.

I received a free copy from Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

JULIA WILSON