Choosing to SEE

A week ago I said in this post I was excited to tell you about a book I was reading.  Well, I finished it and am so thankful I read it.

The summer of 2008 I was at home in Hudson, having just graduated college and anxiously awaiting the month of July to get married and move to Chicago.  It was an ordinary summer day.  I was in our family room reading next to my mom who was watching the news, when she suddenly gasped and pointed to the small letters scrolling across the bottom of the screen.  It was one of those moments that you remember so clearly and is forever engraved in your memory.  It read "Steven Curtis Chapman's adopted daughter was hit and killed by their son."  That was it.  The pit that forms in your stomach after news like that is just unforgettable.

I later saw pictures of Will, their son who hit Maria, at the funeral with his sister's pink blanket draped around his shoulders.  I immediately thought of the huge task that his parents had, grieving over their daughter while still loving their son and protecting him from the immense guilt he felt.

My mom picked out this book for me last Christmas called "Choosing to SEE" by Mary Beth Chapman.  While Mary Beth opened up about the tragedy of losing her daughter, (and let me tell you it was heart wrenching.  I don't cry too often but I definitely could not hold back the tears while reading most of this book) she also opened up about meeting Steven and their life struggling as a young married couple.

Although this book wasn't like some of the others I have read where you are underlying phrase after phrase of biblical insight, I learned a lot about a mom who sought to trust God through every tough situation life presented her.  Mary Beth wrote from her heart about her life: the hard times, the hilarious times (and she definitely had some funny stories that I had to read out loud to Dan), and the times of relying on God through the craziness of their life.  It was refreshing to read this book and I am thankful that she chose to be vulnerable and share with me and her other readers such personal stories.

As I think about my future with Dan and all that awaits us, I can only pray that I will rely on God through every situation that life presents us like Mary Beth did.