Back to Life
Page 24
“I’ve already given up good shoes. Is there more sacrifice on my side?”
He grins. “That’s all. For now, anyway.”
I run to the top of the stairs and throw out my arms. “I’m the king of the world!” I say with a spin.
And I won’t be there alone.
Because sometimes God takes our worst fears and turns them into beautiful dreams come true. Ultimately, He knows when it’s time to get back into life.
Dear Reader:
Have you ever noticed that God brings annoying people into your life? Not just annoying people, but the same kind of annoying people! Over and over again! It’s taken me awhile, but I’ve come not to resent those people, but to try to see what lesson that God has for me to learn. It’s clearly something I have trouble learning, or I wouldn’t keep going through the same trials! My prayer for you, Dear Reader, is that you take all the lessons God has for you and try to find your place in His Will—especially when you want to run the other direction.
Sometimes you hear the most horrifying stories of people’s pasts and yet they can thank God after coming through those trials because they grew as people. They learned a lesson that God allowed them to pass on by comforting others. Granted, maybe not while passing through the lesson, but definitely later.
With Love,
Kristin Billerbeck
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
—2 CORINTHIANS 1:3
Discussion Questions
Lindsay is known as the woman who has it all together, who is able to handle life, but it turns out she was better at handling other people’s lives. Have you ever felt like you lost your own rudder?
It sometimes feels like God seems to pile things on when life is tough. Lindsay is still mourning her husband and figuring out her own life, when Haley’s wedding crops up with a myriad of chores. Have you ever had to put aside grieving to help the living? If so, how did it work out?
Jane has managed to spend most of her life avoiding intimacy since making mistakes when she was younger. Have you ever had a hard time forgiving yourself and moving on? How did you ultimately handle getting unstuck?
Have you ever used avoiding a decision rather than make any decision at all? Did you notice that in itself was a decision? How did it turn out?
Jane’s avoidance of her feelings hurt a lot of people. Did you have a hard time identifying with her?
Lindsay also needed to move on from long-ago mistakes. What does it do to your faith when you hold on to old hurts?
Jane had a hard time forgiving people from her past and she held a grudge and took it out on a man who loved her dearly (Davis). Was there a time you took out your anger on an innocent? How did you move past it?
Do you think all people are capable of change? Did you think Mitch had changed?
Lindsay fights a relationship with Ronnie. Have you ever done that only to find it was inevitable?
Although Cherry had an abrupt way of seeing things, she was trying to help Lindsay to move on. Have you ever had someone tell you the right thing in the wrong way?
About the Author
KRISTIN BILLERBECK is a Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
By Kristin Billerbeck
THE TROPHY WIVES CLUB
Credits
Cover photograph by Gen Nishino/Getty Images
Cover photograph by Dave King/Getty Images
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BACK TO LIFE. Copyright © 2008 by Kristin Billerbeck. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition AUGUST 2008 ISBN: 9780061982361
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com