READING GROUP GUIDE

1. As she prepared to marry Derek, Kendra knew he wasn’t a man of faith and that even she wasn’t who she needed to be. Yet she was comfortable pushing these realizations aside. In your own life, have you acknowledged that, spiritually, you’re not where you’d like to be—and left it at that? Or did you begin to take steps toward positive change?

2. Did you find Derek’s decision to leave Kendra understandable? Do you think you could love someone enough to marry him if you knew he’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness?

3. If you’ve never grappled with same-sex attraction, you likely know someone who has—though he or she may not have shared it. Would you be a safe person with whom someone could share this struggle? Would you listen with compassion and show love?

4. Lance told Trey, “When something is in our lives that brings affliction or suffering or any struggle we can’t control, we’re more aware of our need for God.” Have you experienced affliction, suffering, or a struggle that made you more aware of your need for God? Did you see His love and care in deeper ways? Explain.

5. The Wednesday night Bible study was called The Shadow. Have you ever lived in shadows of doubt, fear, or shame? Have you experienced what it’s like to dwell in a different shadow, one of refuge and blessing—the shadow of the Almighty?

6. At Kendra’s “wisdom shower,” they noted that tomorrow is not promised for any of us. In what ways could you intentionally treat each day as a gift? How can you glorify God daily?

7. Kendra told Derek that when he broke up with her, she thought it was the end of the world. But he became her testimony. Have you ever experienced the pain of a closed door, only to see it later as God’s goodness? Did that closed door become your testimony? Explain.

8. Kendra found great comfort in Psalm 18 as she began to know God’s attributes personally. Do you know the Lord as your strength, your rock, your fortress, your deliverer, your refuge, and your salvation? How has He made Himself known with respect to any one of these?

9. In the midst of a very difficult season, have you experienced unimagined blessings—hidden blessings—from God?