The Weary Travelers faith-sharing men's small group started a book study on Catholic author Jim Sano's novel "Stolen Blessing". After reading the novel over the summer, I prepared this reading plan for our book study and discerned the following themes:
- Introduction - Chapters 1 - 7
- Mystery - Chapters 8 - 13
- Search - Chapters 14 - 19
- Wrong Person - Chapters 20 - 25
- Confession I - Chapters 26 - 31
- Elizabeth - Chapters 32 - 37
- Jacob - Chapters 38 - 43
- Confession II - Chapters 44 - 49
- Forgiveness & Hope - Chapters 50 - 53
Below are my thoughts on chapters 20 to 25 of "Stolen Blessing" [and *SPOILER ALERT*]:
Chapter 20: Fr. Tom gives Erick this advice when Erick asks him what he should be doing: "Talk to God. Put your trust in him and listen with your heart. Try to be close to Addie." As challenging as this can be in the moment, it is so important to pray to God and remain close to loved ones when one is going through a difficult time. We are not meant to face things alone. Not when we have God to turn to and loved ones to depend on for love and support.
Chapter 21: The police in Santa Rosa, New Mexico finds Jimi and baby Marie and, upon receiving a picture of Elizabeth from Detective Brooks, determines that the baby with Jimi is not Elizabeth. Brooks asks the Santa Rosa police to hold on to Jimi while they check his story with Mariana, Jimi's girlfriend.
Chapter 22: Fr. Tom goes to see Detective Brooks and learns that while they caught Jimi Johnson, the baby with him is Marie, not Elizabeth. They confirm Jimi's story with Mariana, the mother of Marie. She has cancer and that has affected Marie. The only treatment for her is in Tijuana, which is where Jimi Johnson is taking Marie. Detective Brooks informs Fr. Tom and Angelo that they are bringing in Jack, because the taxi driver identified him as the person in his cab the night Angelo was attached. Also, Detective Brooks has not ruled out Addie and Rachel.
Chapter 23: Fr. Tom goes to see Detective Brooks who tells him that Jack cannot corroborate where he was the night Angelo was attacked or the afternoon of the kidnapping. However, Jack denies that he did anything wrong. Detective Brooks informs Jack that he has a warrant to search his car and asks if he needs an attorney. Afterwards, Detective Brooks allows Jack to talk with Fr. Tom in private, hoping that Fr. Tom can convince Jack to come clean. Jack is protecting someone. After his conversation with Jack ended, Fr. Tom goes to see Detective Brooks who tells him that they are planning to book Jack. They have evidence tying his car to the kidnapping, including a yellow back that links Jack to Jimi Johnson.
Chapter 24: Fr. Tom runs into Mavis and Theresa Sims at Rosie's Place (women's shelter) and asks them about Mariana Perez. Mavis shares that Mariana stayed at Rosie's Place while she had her baby and that Jimi is good to her. Marie is not Jimi's child but he takes good care of her, even though he has a rough life himself. After his visit with Mavis and Theresa, Fr. Tom goes to Orchard Park to see Mariana, who immediately asks him about Marie since she had not heard anything from Jimi the night before.
Fr. Tom and Mariana also talk about God and how He has a great plan for us all, saying, "Sometimes that plan is difficult but has a huge impact on others - even if we don't realize it at the time" (p. 105). I think this is one of the great challenges that we have in our relationship with God - TRUST. We can be too impatient to trust God's will and allow His plan to unfold before us. We are too impatient so we attempt to take control of things, we get angry and frustrated, and, worst, we take it out on our loved ones. We abandon God because we thinks that He has abandon us in our time of need when He has never left our side nor will He ever leave our side. Mariana seems to understand this as she reflects on her current situation and whether she is doing good for someone else in her life. Fr. Tom also asks Mariana about Elizabeth.
Chapter 25: Fr. Tom returns to the hospital and decides to go see Erick. However, upon entering the hospital room, he sees that Erick and Addie are in an "intense conversation." Erick and Addie just learned from Detective Mullen that they plan to book Jack. Fr. Tom gets Erick to admit that IF Jack really did kidnap Elizabeth that he motive would have been out of jealousy. Erick is adamant that Jack could not have done it. Fr. Tom tells Erick that he needs to take care of himself and get better or he would not be of any use to anyone, especially to Addie and Elizabeth.
Previous blog(s):
- Stolen Blessing" Book Study (Chapters 1 - 7) with the Weary Travelers https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/10/stolen-blessing-book-study-chapters-1-7.html
- "Stolen Blessing" Book Study (Chapters 8 - 13) with the Weary Travelers https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/10/stolen-blessing-book-study-chapters-8.html
- "Stolen Blessing" Book Study (Chapters 14 - 19) with the Weary Travelers https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/11/stolen-blessing-book-study-chapters-14.html
No comments:
Post a Comment