Wife Wanted in Dry Creek (17 page)

Dear Reader,

I’m glad you decided to visit Dry Creek again. No one has put up a public prayer request for a wife or husband in this small town until now and I knew you’d want to see what happens. Even in a place like Dry Creek there can be too many matchmakers.

I guess our only excuse for trying to match everyone up is that we are meant to live in community. Whether married or single, child or adult, we need people to care about us. Many of us find those people in our local church. If you don’t belong to a church, I’d suggest you visit one and see what happens.

Again, thanks for tuning in to the adventures in Dry Creek. If you have time, send me an e-mail through my Web site at www.janettronstad.com. Or write me in care of the editors at Steeple Hill, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

Until we meet again, may God bless you.

Sincerely yours,

1. In this book, Conrad Nelson has just moved to Dry Creek to be close to his only family, his uncle, Charley, and his aunt, Edith. Part of living in Dry Creek means people are going to know his business, though. How did Conrad feel when his uncle put a prayer request in the church bulletin asking God to give him a wife? Have you ever been in a situation where well-meaning people seemed to get in your business too much? The Bible calls us to be in community, does it call us to be this close, though?
   
2. Do you think a church should pray about people’s romances? How about their finances? Their political decisions? Their ethics? Where is the dividing line between concern and nosiness?
   
3. Conrad had a hard life. Why is he reluctant to risk loving someone? Have you had a bad experience that has made you hesitate to get close to people? How could people in the church have made this situation better? And what would have made it worse?
   
4. Katrina Britton had a difficult past, too. Why did she feel God betrayed her? Have you ever felt God has betrayed your trust? What difference has this made in your life?
   
5. What prompted Katrina to quit her secretarial job and pursue her dream of being a professional photographer? Have you ever had a dream like that? What did you do—or what will you do—to make it come true?
   
6. Katrina learned to see things differently when she gave up trying to control them. Why do you think she found it so hard to give up control?
   
7. Conrad was afraid to love someone too much, because he didn’t want them to die. This is understandable. How do we get courage to love anyone? What would you have told Conrad if you could have talked with him?
   
8. Aunt Edith opens her home to four people she barely knows: Katrina, her sister and her nephews. The Bible tells us to be hospitable. Would you do the same thing? Why or why not?
   
9. Conrad doesn’t realize he loves Katrina until it’s almost too late. Have you ever realized the importance of someone only when it’s time to say goodbye (i.e., realizing all your parents have done for you as it’s time to move on to college, coming to appreciate a friend when it’s time for them to leave)?
   
10. Katrina’s sister has to decide whether or not to divorce her husband, Walker. What do you think she will do?