The Broken Way

1.Voskamp returns again and again to the eucharistic sequence: taken, blessed, broken, given. In this chapter, she argues that this is not just what happened to the bread at the Last Supper — it is the shape of every faithful human life. Do you find that sequence comforting or frightening? Why?

1.Voskamp argues that most of us are living for an abundance that is really just accumulation — more stuff, more comfort, more control — rather than the genuine abundance Jesus promised in John 10:10. What is the difference between those two kinds of 'more'? Which one are you more often chasing?

1.Voskamp uses the Greek word koinonia — often translated 'fellowship' but carrying the deeper meaning of 'sharing in' or 'communion' — to describe the kind of intimacy that becomes possible between broken people. How does her definition challenge the surface-level fellowship most of us experience in church or community?

1.Voskamp reflects on Hagar's name for God in the wilderness: El Roi — 'You are the God who sees me.' She argues that being seen is one of the deepest hungers of the human soul. Do you agree? Where in your life do you most feel unseen or invisible?

1.Voskamp uses the word 'cruciform' — cross-shaped — to describe the kind of love that goes down before it rises, that gives before it receives, that serves rather than demands. In your own words, what does cruciform love look like in everyday life — at home, at work, in friendship?

1.Voskamp is honest that the broken way is not a formula for pain relief — it is not a promise that following Jesus will resolve your circumstances. She says the miracle is often not the removal of the mess but the transformation that happens inside it. How does that land for you? Does it feel like truth or like a cop-out?

1.Voskamp describes concrete practices of self-giving — writing letters, giving to strangers, entering into others' suffering in small, uncelebrated ways — and argues that abundance comes through the accumulation of such small acts. Does that seem too small to you, or does the smallness of it actually feel manageable? Why?

1.Voskamp references Colossians 1:24 — Paul's mysterious claim that he 'fills up in his flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions' — and argues that human suffering, offered to Christ, can participate in His redemptive work. How do you understand that verse? Does it comfort you or trouble you?

1.Voskamp returns to the parable of the Prodigal Son and focuses not on the son's return but on the father's running — the undignified, rushing, robe-lifting sprint toward the one who is broken and ashamed. What does the father's running say about how God receives us in our brokenness?

1.When you began this study, what brokenness were you carrying — named or unnamed — that you were hoping the book might speak to? Looking back, how has it spoken to that thing? What has shifted, even slightly?