Discussion Questions

Use these questions for individual reflection or for discussion with a group of reader friends, a circle of people at church, or your family members. Maybe, like the Baxters, God is calling you to a more joyful place. Even if the season you’re in now is one of your most painful.

1. Statistically, the tragic loss or accidental injury of a child is one of the most difficult situations for married people. Discuss situations you are familiar with where such a tragedy led to a troubled marriage.

2. Why do you think so many marriages end in divorce after such a time?

3. Doubt has a way of creeping into any dark time. We saw that with Luke after September 11, and now with stalwart John Baxter in light of Hayley’s accident. Why do doubts plague us who have faith? Where does it have its roots?

4. What does it look like to rejoice during a trial? Talk about a time when you or someone you know chose to rejoice during a hard time. Compare that to a time when you or someone you know chose to respond differently.

5. Why do you think God asks us to respond to hard times by being joyful?

6. Use as many adjectives as possible to describe joy.

7. Is it possible for doubt to exist in a joyful setting? Why or why not?

8. Is God asking us to hide or bury our true feelings about pain? Is he asking us to be happy about bad situations?

9. God has given us free will. As such, we have a number of ways we can respond to a tragedy. Think back on some of the Baxter family members and how they responded to Hayley’s drowning: Elizabeth . . . John . . . Brooke . . . Peter . . . Ashley . . . Maddie . . . Cole.

10. Peter’s response to such a horrific trial was to numb his pain. Explain why that didn’t work for Peter. Discuss what other issues came about as a result. Share a time when numbing pain didn’t work for you or for someone you know.

11. What price did Peter’s family pay for his response to their tragedy?

12. How would things have been different for Peter and his family if he had chosen to rejoice in the midst of such a terrible ordeal?

13. God promises to give us a way out of any situation we find ourselves in. That was true for the Baxter family in this season as well. Explain Brooke’s reaction and decision in light of Hayley’s accident.

14. Read James 1:1-4. How did this passage play out for Brooke, and later for Peter?

15. Read Philippians 4:4-6. Explain how these verses apply to Ashley’s reaction to these painful events. What biblical connection exists between rejoicing and finding peace?

16. Explain how you’ve seen that connection play out in your own life or in the life of someone you know.

17. More than one issue was presented in Rejoice. Another was letting go of a child, the way Elizabeth had to let go of Luke. Discuss a time when you had to let go of a child or someone you loved.

18. Elizabeth had two choices: She could begrudge Luke for choosing to marry young and move to New York with Reagan, or she could rejoice at his happiness, even as tears made their way down her face. Which did Elizabeth do? How did her choice relate to God’s command that we rejoice in all situations? What could have happened if she had responded differently?

19. Kind, old Irvel had an amazing impact on Ashley’s life. Explain how joy played out in Irvel’s life even after she developed Alzheimer’s disease.

20. What did Ashley take away from her time with Irvel?