1.     How do you define grace? Explain why and how you have come to your definition.

 

2.     In her essays, the author treats Grace as if it is a living character. Discuss how your understanding of this idea fits or conflicts with your own beliefs about grace.

 

3.     On the last page of the first essay, “the call of Grace,” Nicolet writes the following by Eckhart Tolle: “Acceptance of the unacceptable is the greatest source of grace in this world.” Does this quote have meaning in your life?

 

4.     Share your definition of paradox. How does Neils Bohr’s idea – that a paradox can contain two absolute truths – mesh with your own understanding of paradox?

 

5.     Explain the Paradox Gap (found in the final essay) to another? Describe a situation of loss and/or grief in your life where you believe you moved into that gap and discovered something new.

 

6.     Do you believe, as the author writes, that grief and grace are both readily available within our hearts? Share your position and then talk about the experience that has taken you to that belief.

 

7.     “ . . . the truth is that once profound grief takes up residence in you, time is meaningless; there is no returning to that accustomed place before it.” Does Nicolet’s quote ring true in your life? In what ways?

 

8.     In the third essay, “finding Grace in the mystery,” the author quotes Brian McLaren (We Make The Road By Walking) as saying: “Maybe a vision means seeing into what’s more real than anything else.” What does this statement mean to you? How might believing it impact the way you live your life?

 

9.     What do you think of the author’s belief that one cannot truly begin healing until he/she intentionally lives fully present, in the Now of time?

 

10.  In her essay about standing in stillness by others as they grieve, Nicolet provides a list of best hopes written from the perspective of the griever. Which in this list do you believe are the two or three most helpful for you to remember as you support another? Which two or three would be your best hopes from another if you were grieving?