Stories of Living Life's Questions
Engaging and true-to-life, these ten short stories vividly portray people who are wrestling with important life issues--love, work, money, suffering, communication, vocation, and more. Written from a young person's viewpoint, the stories offer in-depth material for reflecting on the meaning and practice of the Christian life.
- Lacey escapes spending a drunken night in a Tijuana jail only to be shaken up the next morning by encounters with a world he has never known.
- Scott and Emily have just gotten engaged, but Emily wonders if they will turn out like her miserable, divorcing parents.
- Lily's developmentally disabled brother, Christopher, can be exasperating. But he has some lessons to teach her, like how to wake up bees.A companion leader's guide is also available, which includes suggestions for using the stories with groups.
During the night, she slept long and deep, and had powerful dreams. She swam up to awareness only as someone’s hand rocked her dream-boat, pushing insistently at her shoulder.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up.”
Zoe’s eyes snapped open. It was a girl in a white nightgown with yellow butterflies printed all over. She had large brown eyes. The girl turned her face sideways to see Zoe better.
READ MORE“Hello,” the girl said.
“Hello,” Zoe said, blinking several times. The clock on the wall said it was five in the morning. “What room did you escape from?”
The girl leaned forward, until her beautiful brown face was inches from Zoe’s. “I’m hungry,” she whispered conspiratorially, her eyes widening. “Let’s go find something good to eat.”
Zoe laughed. Didn’t they feed anyone around here?
“I can’t get you anything to eat. See, I’m stuck in bed. Go out in the hall and ask one of the nurses for a snack.”
The girl shook her head solemnly and began removing Zoe’s covers. “They don’t have the good stuff. We want real food, right?”
She took Zoe’s arm and peeled away the tape holding the IV line in place.
“Hey, don’t do that!”
The girl smiled brightly at her as she removed the needle and coiled up the line. “Why not? If you eat real food, you won’t need it.”
Zoe regarded the girl curiously for a moment. “It’s not my job to feed you, you know.”
The girl gave her a “get serious” look.
“Well,” Zoe sighed, “Maybe I can get something to eat myself while I’m at it.” She was suddenly hungry for strawberries in warm vanilla ice cream.
She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and was surprised at how well she felt. She breathed in deeply; no coughing. The girl took her by the hand and led her to the door.
COLLAPSE