You're the One That I Want (34 page)

1. Ingrid’s letter details Owen’s strengths but also cautions him about his weaknesses. How do you see the traits she highlights play out in Owen’s story? Is there someone in your life who has similar insight into your character
    
   —the good and the bad? How has that person’s wisdom affected you?
   
2. In her letter, Ingrid tells Owen, “God has a special place in His heart for messy, passionate, live-out-loud people. The young. The inexperienced. The blindly brave. The ones who dive in, not looking back, believing they can slay giants with a stone.” Do you think this is true? Later, John lists a few people from the Bible who fit this description: “Rahab, the prostitute; Samson, the playboy; Paul, the terrorist; and Peter . . . the impulsive.” Can you think of other examples, from Scripture or from your own experience?
   
3. After nearly two years of running from his mistakes, Owen wishes he could go home, that he could repair the damage he’s done, but thinks it’s impossible. Have you ever felt the same way
    
   —stuck between a longing to make things right and a belief that it’s too late? What was the outcome?
   What parallels do you see between Owen’s story
    
   —and Casper’s
    
   —and the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son? (See Luke 15:11-32 for the story.)
   
4. Scotty distrusts emotion, adopting a “no crying” rule for her life. This has affected not only her relationships with other people, but her perception of faith. She tells Owen, “Being a Christian makes you weak. Makes you . . . emotional.” Do you tend to equate emotion with weakness? How would you respond to Scotty?
   
5. As he and Scotty drift at sea, uncertain whether they’ll be rescued, Owen makes an impulsive proposal . . . and Scotty impulsively accepts. What consequences does this have once they’re rescued? Have you ever made a rash promise in the heat of a moment? When that moment passed, did you follow through or look for a way out?
   
6. Scotty has convinced herself that she’s not “marriage material.” What does she mean by that? How do other characters respond to her pronouncement? What, in your opinion, makes someone marriage material?
   
7. Watching how Casper and Owen interact, Scotty observes, “People who loved each other that much knew how to wound the deepest.” Do you agree? How do Casper and Owen bring out the best and worst in each other? Have you seen similar dynamics with your own siblings or between siblings you know?
   
8. Several characters struggle to advise Owen, Casper, and Raina on the right thing to do in their complicated situation. Some believe Owen and Raina, as Layla’s parents, should get
   married; others, that Raina and Casper should marry since they love each other and want to raise Layla together. How would you have advised them in these circumstances? What did you think of the decision they ultimately make?
   
9. Owen was forced, by consequences of his own bad choices, to give up the life he’d dreamed of, and in this story he really grieves that loss for the first time. What do you think his life would’ve been like if he’d never been injured? What parts of his life might have been better . . . or worse?
   
10. As he sits in a jail cell, Casper angrily thinks that he has “come home, swept up Owen’s mess, fixed everything. And this is how life
     
    —how God
     
    —repaid him.” Is he justified in feeling this way? Have you ever felt similar bitterness at your circumstances, or even at God for those circumstances? Looking back at that time, do you still feel the same way, or has your perspective changed?
    
11. In his sermon, Pastor Dan says, “A life committed to God requires us to live uncomfortably. Inconveniently. Accountably. Bravely. Transparently. Vulnerably. It requires us to love without rules. Welcome to grace.” Is this an accurate picture of the Christian life? What does it mean to “love without rules”? What characters in this story embody this kind of love?
    
12. Which Christiansen sibling do you identify with most? Who would you turn to in time of need? What about for a laugh and encouragement? Picture the Christiansen family five or ten years down the road. What do you think their future holds?
    

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