Show hope
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
There was a time Steven Curtis Chapman wasn’t sure he’d ever sing again.
Fifty Dove Awards, five Grammys—even a star on Nashville’s Hall of Fame—meant little when Steven and his wife, Mary Beth, along with their five surviving children, buried Maria Sue, the youngest member of the family.
But bruised faith was never broken.
In the end, Steven began to sing again for two reasons: he believed Maria Sue would want him to and the family was determined to use their suffering as a point for people to see their faith.
That’s the difference hope makes.
The Chapmans’ story reached millions as they have shared raw, honest faith on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The 700 Club and in People Magazine.
On Tuesday, Oct. 5, the Chapmans, including Steven, Mary Beth and sons, Will and Caleb, will be on stage together at Southeast’s Blankenbaker Campus as part of Momentum, a week of outreach designed for those who wouldn’t normally attend church. There will be silliness and laughter, as well as tears, as the family tells the
story of a journey they never would have chosen.
“We’ll dance among the ruins … ”
Steven, who was born and raised in Paducah, Ky., looks forward to this “different” stage.
“That night, we’ll be singing songs we never imagined writing,” he said. “Mary Beth has written a book she never wanted to write. Part of the redemption and beauty coming out of the ashes is being able to share our journey and see other people encouraged. Through all the pain, we’re able to say that no matter how dark your life
gets, Jesus will meet you wherever you are. We’re still breathing and surviving by the grace of God.”
None of it has been easy.
The Chapmans’ lives were forever changed on May 21, 2008, a bright, sunny day as the family gathered at their home in Franklin, Tenn., for a family celebration. Emily, 23, was engaged, and they’d brought her wedding dress home to show the three younger sisters—Shaoey Hope, then 8, Stevey Joy, 5, and Maria Sue, who had just
turned 5. They were excited about being flower girls in the wedding.
They’d also celebrate Caleb’s graduation from high school. It was a casual family get-together. One of hundreds. Will Franklin was driving home from school, where he’d auditioned for a play, and the three girls were playing on the playground. They loved to climb on the monkey bars, swing and pretend they were a famous musical
group called “the Chapman Sisters.”
Steven was on the porch, talking on his cell phone as he watched Will pull into the driveway, which winds past the house to the garage in back, near the playground. He was not speeding or talking on a cell phone.
From her chair in the dining room, Mary Beth suddenly realized that sounds coming from the playground weren’t the giggles and banter of play. She ran toward shrieks and screams to see Will coming toward her, carrying Maria. They were both covered with blood. They later learned that when Maria saw Will’s car coming, she ran
toward it, knowing that he’d help her up on the monkey bars. He never saw her.
Steven called for a stat flight and ambulance. As he and Mary Beth followed the emergency vehicles out of the driveway, Steven yelled out the window, “Will Franklin, your father loves you.”
At the hospital, Steven explained to doctors and nurses that it was an “eternal moment.”
“As crazy as it seems right now,” he told the medical team, “the only thing I can say to honor the life of my little girl and our terrible loss at this moment is to ask you, please don’t miss this … we will all stand here one day and face eternity. If you don’t know the One who can give you eternal life, His name is Jesus … You need to
meet Him, and you need to meet my little girl in heaven … she’s amazing.”
“Heaven is the face of a little girl”
Grief is a pit-filled road. You have to decide what to do with God through it all. In the midst of heartbreak, you have to figure out if He really will do as He promised—make it all work for good.
That’s hard to see when your life has been ripped to shreds.
One day early on in their marriage, when Steven and Mary Beth were quarreling about some little thing that didn’t matter much, he said, “Satan will not have my family.”
This time, Mary Beth said it.
“I know that Satan took a massive swing at our entire family on May 21 and thought he was going to destroy us for good,” she wrote in her new book, Choosing to See. Even in a free fall of pain, we’ve landed on a solid foundation and our faith has held … on most days. Many days this year, Satan was crushed and what the enemy
intended for evil … God intended for good.”
So they plod on. Steven said the second year without Maria has been even harder than the first.
When people wanted to support them through grief, they asked people not to send flowers but to support Maria’s Big House of Hope, a medical care center in China that cares for orphans with special needs.
They named it for the day not too long before the accident when Maria Sue asked her mother if God has a big, big house. Mary Beth told her He does.
“I want to go there,” Maria said.
“God has overwhelmed us with a joy that eased our sorrow and allowed us to see that out of this horrible story, there were redemptive pieces already being written by the Healer of all wounds,” Mary Beth said.