Questions to prod your personal thinking and processing or for use in group discussion. They are arranged by article title.

“Forgiveness: Leaving One Place to Find Another” by Suzie Eller

1. Suzie Eller writes about the secrets her family held in her youth. If your family had secrets, how did they affect you? And are they still secret? If so, how are they continuing to affect you?  

2. Suzie was determined to write a different story regarding her parenting. What changes have you made - or do you need to make - in order not to carry issues forward another generation?

3. Aphiemi means to leave one place to find another. How does that definition change your understanding of forgiveness and what it means for you?

4. Often, forgiveness doesn’t happen because we don’t want to make the first move. Where do you need make the first move? And how can you best do this?

5. Could forgiving someone you need to forgive begin a new legacy in your family? How so?

“The Seasons of Suffering” by Trina Pocket

1. How does suffering change your relationship with God? Think about this and how it’s affected your faith.

2. Trina writes, “During the cancer, my prayer life became raw. I was honest, broken, mad, confused, and tender. Every time, God met me right where I was and gave peace that only he can give.” God is big enough to handle “raw, honest, broken, mad, confused and tender.” Where are you feeling any of these feelings in your life right now?

3. “God isn’t caught off guard by circumstances.” Where does this thought offer hope for you right now?

4. How has God shown himself in your life by people showing up? Is there someone’s life you can show up in this week?