Choosing to See

Last week, when I took the kids to library storytime, I was not planning to get a book for myself.  I was still reading A Lantern in Her Hand and am constantly having to fight the temptation to have 2 or 3 books going at one time.  But then I spied Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by MaryBeth Chapman and there was no turning back.  (I read a good chunk of it during my break whil at a sub job the other day and ended up praying no one stuck their head in the room I was in as I was crying the entire time I was reading.)

MaryBeth is married to Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman but perhaps what will be their legacy is not just his music but the loss of their daughter, Maria.  She was 5 and was accidentally hit by their son, Will, as he was pulling the car into the drive of their home.  To be honest, I have not been a Steven Curtis Chapman fan.  It wasn't that I didn't like his music, just that I never was all excited about it.  So at the time of Maria's accident a few years ago, I was sad that it had happened especially because Maria was adopted from China and it seemed so tragic to bring a child home from a foreign country and then lose that child in an accident.  But that was about the extent of it.

Then I saw the Chapman family being interviewed on Larry King.  I don't know if any of you saw that interview but it was riveting.  It left Larry King who by a lot of accounts is a Jewish agnostic amazed at the God who lives inside of this family.  I walked away from this interview with a heart full of praise.  They were real.  They were authentic.  They were hurting.  But they were wise.  But most of all they were letting God talk through them.  If you haven't seen the interview, I've posted it below.  It's about 40 minutes but the story is simply inspiring.  And if that's not enough, I would challenge you to read MaryBeth's book.  It covers many of the things from the interview but has so much more and is full of encouragement for people who are going through real life events that make life look less than rosy.  Indeed, it is beauty from ashes.

Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King @ Yahoo! Video