Prairie Storm (34 page)
2. The main spiritual issue for Lily is “Did the Bible offer even a single promise of God's abiding shelter at
all
times through
all
things?” How does the story answer this question?
3. Lily can't understand, at first, why Elijah would go through all the trouble to take care of the baby Samuel. What motivates Elijah to make that commitment? How does Lily herself eventually become attached to Samuel?
4. Lily believes that Beatrice is her friend. What is the real dynamic going on in that relationship? What kind of spiritual beliefs does Beatrice hold? Why is this attractive to Lily? How does she break free finally?
5. What attraction does the prospect of going to China hold for Elijah? How does he come to realize that God has called him to Hope, Kansas?
6. D Describe the spiritual struggles Lily and Elijah each experience when they are so afraid they will lose Samuel. How does this affect their spiritual growth?
7. How does Lily help Samuel spiritually, even before she makes her own commitment to Christ? Can God use unbelievers in a person's life to help him or her grow spiritually? Why or why not?
8. Elijah's torment is that he loves Lily, but she's not a believer (at least he doesn't know for a while even after she commits her life to Christ), so he knows he must not marry her. Everyone else seems to think Elijah should marry Lily. Is his struggle a valid one?
9. What is it about Elijah and his faith that helps Lily see the truth of the gospel?
10. Lily struggles in the end with whether to obey her father's wishes. She concludes that she should. Is she right in this? When does the command “Children, obey your parents” no longer apply, if ever?
11. How does Lily find healing from her past? How does her father find healing?
12. A running theme throughout this story is God's wisdom vs. human wisdom. Beatrice persuades Lily that the only person she can trust and rely upon is herself. Her father has ideas about what is best for Elijah, Lily, and the baby. Discuss the contrasts between God's ways and human ways in this story, and how the story illustrates the true wisdom of humility, repentance, and trusting God.
C
ATHERINE PALMER lives in Atlanta with her husband, Tim, where they serve as missionaries in a refugee community. They have two grown sons. Catherine is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and holds a master's degree in English from Baylor University. Her first book was published in 1988. Since then she has published more than fifty novels, many of them national best sellers. Catherine has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Christy Award, the highest honor in Christian fiction. In 2004, she was given the Career Achievement Award for Inspirational Romance by
Romantic Times BOOKreviews
magazine. More than 2 million copies of Catherine's novels are currently in print.
With her compelling characters and strong message of Christian faith, Catherine is known for writing fiction that “touches the hearts and souls of readers.” Her many collections include A Town Called Hope, Treasures of the Heart, Finders Keepers, English Ivy, and the Miss Pickworth series. Catherine also recently coauthored the Four Seasons fiction series with Gary Chapman, the
New York Times
best-selling author of
The Five Love Languages
.
Visit
catherinepalmer.com
for more information on future releases. To learn more about her work as a missionary to refugees, visit
palmermissions.blogspot.com
.
