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Book Title: Seasons
by Bonnie Hopkins
Reading Group Questions
The following list of questions is designed to enhance a group or individual's
thinking about or discussing some of the issues we hope you will consider after reading this book. This is designed as a starting point only and is not meant to limit the discussion.
- In the prologue, Jaci is having a panic attack at the thought of
walking down the aisle. What overriding emotion does the thought
of marriage evoke in you—and why?
- When you were twenty-one, what future did you anticipate? (Or if
you have not yet reached that age, what are your expectations for
it?) How does the present compare with those anticipations? How has
your faith equipped you to deal with the contrast?
- After her run-in with the dog, Jaci asks God, "Is this all
I have to look forward to?" She acknowledges the many blessings
in her life—and still wonders if the Lord doesn’t have
something better in store for her. When have you asked God that kind
of question? What answer did you get—and how did you respond?
- Ron refuses to buckle to family pressures to get involved with
the family businesses. How do you deal with similar expectations
or pressures in your family? How does the biblical exhortation to
honor your parents influence your decisions and how you communicate
those decisions?
- Gloria notes that Jaci was "programmed for failure" in
a variety of ways in her job, but that the woman just refused to
back down or give up. How have you been "programmed for failure" as
a woman or as an African American? How have you responded to that
challenge? How might you respond differently in the future, with
Jaci as a role model and faith as your foundation?
- J.P. offers Jaci a job, in large part as a strategy for getting
to know her better. Does that strike you as being sweet or sneaky?
Magnanimous or manipulative? Inspired or inviting a conflict of interests?
Does it raise any flags related to job-related sexual harassment,
or do you think it was a legitimate way to develop a relationship?
Why?
- Early on, J.P. shows evidence of having problems with jealousy.
As a woman, how do you feel about a jealous man? Why? What does Scripture
say that might caution us about getting involved with a brother who
has a jealous streak? Is jealousy always a bad thing? Why or why
not? (See Exodus 20:5; Numbers 5; Proverbs 27:4; see also texts relating
to envy or covet.)
- Often, shame and guilt about a less than godly past obstructs our
ability to move forward in God’s blessings. Answer J.P.’s
question for yourself: "If God is willing to forgive you, don’t
you think you should be willing to forgive yourself?" Which
is harder for you—accepting forgiveness from others or extending
it to (or from) yourself? Why?
- Jaci admits that she would like to share her life with a man, but
she has a peace about being alone. Where are you on that journey?
Are you married—and wishing you weren’t? Are you alone—and
longing for a mate? What peace have you discovered when it comes
to relationships between men and women? What role has your faith
played in finding that measure of peace?
- Have you ever noticed that your past has a way of forcing its way
into your present at the worst possible time? Jaci wrestles inwardly
at least to try for some semblance of control and godly grace in
speaking with Maxie. Her prayers didn’t eliminate her human
emotions, but the spiritual connection did help her to regulate them.
How has prayer empowered you in similar ways?
- By the time Jaci gets news of her grandmother’s failing health—and
her denied vacation request—it’s clear that her current
season is the rainy one, as in "when it rains, it pours"!
Jaci’s response is to turn it all over to the Lord. What scriptures
encourage you in the rainy season? How effectively are you able to
surrender the trials and tribulations to God? How have you seen God
prove himself able in those circumstances?
- For Jason and Jaci, the issue of relating to each other’s
families—and particularly to the other person’s child
by a previous relationship—works out pretty smoothly. What
experience do you have in negotiating such complex connections? How
important is it to you that you get along with your man’s family—and
that he get along with yours? Why?
- After two months of silence, J.P. demands that Jaci leave the party
with him. Was she too easy on him—or too hard? How would you
have responded and why?
- Jaci and Jason struggle but strive to resist the temptation to
cross boundaries in their physical attraction for each other. How
do you handle such temptations in your life? Where do you set your
own boundaries—and how does Scripture and faith influence those
decisions?
- Linda goes after Jaci even though Jason is the one who rejected
her. Why do women tend to blame each other instead of the man in
a "love triangle"? How can we, as sisters in faith, resist
that competitive spirit among ourselves?
- Maxie might be the worst-case scenario for a baby daddy, but his
belated interest in Randi and her children does raise questions about
a father’s rights—and the rights of the father’s
extended family. Recognizing the issue is a complex one, what is
your feeling about a father’s rights? Do you think Jaci and
Randi made the right decisions? Why or why not? What do you think
about Maxie’s assertion that since he and Jaci have a child
together, they will always be connected (and Jason’s rejection
of the claim)?
- Jaci reflects that the enemy wouldn’t be attacking her (through
Linda) if this relationship with Jason wasn’t God’s will.
How have you experienced that dynamic in your faith journey—that
the more you strive to follow God, the more obstacles the adversary
throws your way? How does your faith encourage and sustain you in
those times?
- The seven cousins share a particular bond that goes beyond time,
distance, and even communication. Who in your life fulfills that
role—of someone who knows who you were back in the day, who
you are now, and what you need to become the person you want to be?
- What can women—especially women of faith—do to support
a friend or family member who, like Nita, is involved in an abusive
relationship? What counsel or intervention would you offer?
- Twice in the course of the novel, Jaci is confronted with job opportunities
that seem good in many ways—but that also raise flags for her
(first, with J.P.’s offer and later, with Wynola’s old
position). When have you faced decisions about open doors? How does
your faith influence your choices?
- Jaci reflects that marriage required some unanticipated changes
in her life. What kind of adjustments have you had to make (or will
you consider making) with marriage? What kind of changes should one
spouse expect of the other—and what adjustments are unreasonable
efforts to control or subject? How do you discern the difference?
- How is vision important in marriage as well as in career, ministry,
and other areas of life? What can two people do to ensure they identify
and pursue a shared vision in their relationship?
- How do you think you would you feel if your husband believed anonymous
accusations that you were cheating on him? Why was Jason vulnerable
to such a strategy? Is any relationship invulnerable to those kinds
of doubts? Why or why not? What can you do to gird your marriage
or relationship against jealousy, doubts, and lack of trust?
- In the end, Jaci recognizes that her late marriage and second round
of parenting is the new season she had long prayed for—but
that new season involved some challenging changes and terrifying
transitions. Have you noticed that is often the case—that God
answers a prayer through circumstances that drive us to our knees
before we can recognize them as that answered prayer? What Scriptures
have sustained you through those times of change and transition?
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