As we come to the close of this book, I hope all of you have been affected by reading it. I trust that you have learned from the experiences Elisabeth shares with us not only the value of surrendering your love life to Christ but also some practical ways of doing so. In my own life, I find myself asking how Elisabeth would handle certain situations--not out of worship for her, but out of a great respect for the example she has set for believers in Christ. This book continues to challenge me, inspire me, encourage me, and make me want to be a better woman of faith... for my "Jim" but ultimately for my Lord Jesus Christ.
Here are (albeit late) some final thoughts to think from the book's last chapters.
Discussion Questions:
1. Elisabeth says, "I suppose one of the reasons I have kept journals and diaries is the desire to gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. I wrote things there that I could not say to people or write in letters to Jim" (164). Do you keep a journal? What are the values of keeping one?
2. I loved this quote from Samuel Rutherford: "It is impossible to be submissive and religiously patient if ye stay your thoughts down among the confused rollings and wheels of second causes, as O the place! O the time! O if this had been, this had not followed! O the linking of this accident with this time and place! Look up to the master motion and the first wheel." Not sure about you, but I find myself often putting so much pressure on myself to perform perfectly in all situations and then I find myself evaluating where I went wrong if I perceive a problem. Is this not detrimental to experiencing the freedom for which Christ set us free? What are some verses you use to remind you of your position in Christ and keep focused on Him?
3. What do you all think of Jim's bluntness after engagement in expressing his desires to take Elisabeth to bed?
