Reading Group Guide

1. Who was your favorite character and why?

2. Ryan felt God leading him to win Abby back, but balked when it didn’t go according to plan. Discuss a time when you’ve had something similar happen.

3. From the beginning of their relationship Abby feared losing Ryan, as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop. How can negative attitudes play into our relationships?

4. After Abby lost the baby, she felt Ryan resented her. Discuss the reasons she felt that way. Have you ever had a past hurt impose upon a present situation, causing you to read it wrong?

5. At some point Ryan had to give Abby over to God and just pray. He said, “Waiting makes me feel so helpless.” Can you identify? Discuss a time when waiting was the best option for you.

6. Abby was shocked by the realization that she provoked Ryan during the marriage because she felt she deserved to be mistreated. Discuss the ways past wounds can impose upon our present circumstances.

7. We tend to generate the results in life that we think, deep down, that we deserve. How have you seen this played out in your life and in those around you?

8. Abby’s anger and bitterness toward God started her down a path she was never meant to walk. Has this ever happened to you? To someone you love?

9. Discuss the ways in which the grandfather clock is a metaphor for Abby and Ryan’s marriage.

10. How did you feel about reading a reconciliation story? Do you feel Abby and Ryan’s issues were adequately addressed prior to their reconciliation? What obstacles do you foresee in their future?