Ready-Made Family (20 page)

Dear Reader,

I came to know God as an adult partly as a result of His people showing kindness to me. They loved me as I was, even though I wasn’t like them. They didn’t expect me to act like a Christian, because I wasn’t. Yet I knew there was something different about them. That they hung out with me and genuinely cared about me, even when I didn’t share their beliefs, made me want to know the God they served. In the same way, Amelia was drawn back to God by the kindness of Ben and other Christians in Refuge. They determined to love her and help her without expecting anything in return. Yet, they did pray for her to come into a right relationship with God. Because of spiritual abuse, Amelia had a distorted view of God; she saw Him through a clogged filter of His flawed people. I don’t know your church background, and I don’t know how you view God. But I do know that God knows you intimately and has seen every day of your life. He feels our struggles. I pray that you have a place where you can worship with a body of believers in Jesus. A place that feels like home. A place that feels like family. I love hearing from readers. I invite you to e-mail me at [email protected] or write me at P.O. Box 2955, Carbondale, IL 62902-2955.

Blessings on you and yours,

1. Ben’s brother Hutton has Mosaic Down Syndrome. Through the story, Ben didn’t often have confidence in his ability to do or say the right thing because he was afraid of hurting Hutton’s feelings. Do you ever struggle with this when relating to someone with a disability? How do you wish you could respond?
   
2. Amelia falls on tough times in the book. Have you ever been in a situation in your life where you’ve had to rely on total strangers for help? How did you respond? Do you think you would have responded differently, or much the same as Amelia did, in choosing to trust Ben and his friends?
   
3. Amelia packed up everything she had and moved to another state with her daughter because she had high hopes for a job. Then things fell through. Have you ever suffered a disappointment such as this? Do you work with a difficult boss? If so, how do you cope?
   
4. Ben fell in love with Amelia and it didn’t bother him that she was a single mother. Have you ever been in a single-parent home? If so, what are the struggles you had that you wished people would have been more aware of? If not, do you think you’d feel more comfortable asking your family for help, or your local church? Why or why not?
   
5. Ben is a man of his word. He was determined to help Amelia’s dad even when the man was mean. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt obligated to do something for someone because you gave your word,
   only to find the task was more challenging than you imagined? If so, how did you manage to push through?
   
6. Amelia had been shunned by the church for being an unwed mother. She found it hard to plug back in but she finally did. What was it that drew her to Refuge Community Church? How do you think your church would respond to an unwed parent visiting? How would you respond?
   
7. When Amelia learns that Ben is a Christian, she realizes that his relationship with God was the driving force behind his helping her. Of course he was attracted to her, but for the most part, his motives weren’t self-serving. Have you ever met a person who you suspected to be a Christian because of acts of kindness they did? Did you find out later they were?
   
8. In
   Ready-Made Family
   , the bed and breakfast owner gives Hutton a job. Did this aspect of the book touch you? Why or why not?
   
9. Amelia can’t believe her good fortune when this hunky airman not only voiced interest in her, but in her daughter. At what point in the story did you recognize that Ben wasn’t going to give up on Amelia? Do you have someone like that in your life?
   
10. Amelia left her parents’ house because of harsh words. Do you agree it was wise of her to set out on her own with a daughter to care for? Do you think she did the right thing for herself and for Reece?
    
11. Amelia’s dad was bound by prejudice. Ben’s kindness combated that, and God used it to soften the man’s heart,
    especially when he saw Ben’s determination to help repair the storm-damaged roof despite getting word that his own father had died. If you were Ben in that situation, how do you think you would have responded?
    
12. Amelia lands a wonderful job that she doesn’t feel she deserves or is qualified for. Has there been someone in authority who has had more belief in you than you had in yourself? What do you think motivated the bed and breakfast owner to take a chance on Amelia? Do you feel this was risky or wise on the business owner’s part, and why?
    
13. Refuge is a community that lives up to its name. Throughout the book, Amelia picks up on a conspiracy of kindness. Would you like to live in a small town like this, where people reach out and help one another? Or would you feel your privacy was invaded and want everyone to mind their own business? Why so?