by Tessa Afshar
Most of all, thanks to my readers, who return for more stories and share these adventures with me. I have the most amazing fans! Please keep those prayers, letters, and emails coming. Even when I don’t have time to answer, I read every word and thank God for you.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Even before she knows of their true relationship, Chariline rejoices in her lifelong friendship with Natemahar and the way it helps to make up for her lack of a conventional family. How has God used friends in your life, either in place of or in addition to the people you are related to?
When Chariline is tempted to focus on the bad news of not knowing her father’s identity rather than on the good news of knowing that he’s alive, her friend Hermione reminds her, “Sometimes, in the frustration of what we don’t have, we forget to rejoice in what we do.” Why is it often easier to focus on the negative? What are some practical ways we might remind ourselves to rejoice in what we do have?
Chariline is certain that God wants her to find out who her father is, but Hermione urges her to ask for the Lord’s guidance. She points out that often “God starts to tell us something, and before the sentence is out of his mouth, we finish it off the way we prefer. We assume. We presume. And we jump to false conclusions.” Can you think of examples of this, either from the Bible or from your own experience?
Natemahar chooses to keep his relationship to Chariline a secret. Do you feel he has a legitimate reason to conceal his true identity from his daughter? Is Chariline justified in her anger with him when she finds out? In what ways can secrets be harmful in our relationships, and when is it appropriate to have them?
Chariline promises Theo not to go off on her own in her search for her father, but then breaks that promise. What are the consequences of her impatience, both for her and for those who care about her? When has impatience gotten you in trouble?
Priscilla challenges Chariline about her intense desire to find her father: “It’s not the nature of your longing that is at issue. It is the fact that God does not reign over it. Finding your father has become the jewel you refuse to part with. Not even if God asks it. In that part of your heart, at least, your flesh still rules. The problem is that when you are flesh-driven, you cannot be Spirit-led.” Has there been anything in your life that you’ve had a hard time being willing to part with?
Once she starts to seek God’s will about finding her father, Chariline begins to wonder if every hurdle is a message from God telling her she’s on the wrong track. How can we tell whether or not a particular circumstance is actually a message from God?
Both Chariline and Theo struggle with challenges related to tragic circumstances surrounding their birth. Near the end of the book, Theo says, “What the Lord is teaching me is that the sorrows of one generation do not have to be visited upon another. The misfortunes of our parents do not have to shape our lives.” Are there generational hurts that still need to be healed for you or your loved ones? How can your relationship with Jesus help overcome them?
For a long time, because of what happened to him as an infant, Theo struggled with his sense that God was not a loving Father, but rather “a God who would leave me in my time of trouble. A God who would always allow terrible things to happen to me.” Have you, or someone you know, struggled with something similar? What are some ways to address this?
Eventually Theo comes to see his scar not as a reminder of something bad that happened to him, but as a reminder that even in his darkest moment, God was with him, protecting and guiding him. Do you have any “scars” like this—reminders of times in your life when God was present and active, even though you weren’t able to see him at the time?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tessa Afshar is an award-winning author of historical and biblical fiction. Her novel Daughter of Rome was a Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestseller. Thief of Corinth was an Inspy Award finalist, and Land of Silence won an Inspy Award and was voted by Library Journal as one of the top five Christian fiction titles of 2016. Harvest of Gold won the prestigious Christy Award in the historical romance category, and Harvest of Rubies was a finalist for the ECPA Christian Book Award in the fiction category. Tessa also recently released her first Bible study and DVD called The Way Home: God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, based on the book of Ruth.
Tessa was born to a nominally Muslim family in the Middle East and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She then moved to England, where she survived boarding school for girls, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds a master of divinity from Yale University, where she served as cochair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. She worked in women’s and prayer ministries for nearly twenty years before becoming a full-time writer. Tessa speaks regularly at national women’s events. She is a devoted wife, mediocre tomato grower, and chocolate connoisseur. Visit her website at tessaafshar.com.
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