Christianity Today interviews Steven Curtis Chapman as he opens up about losing his daughter, their family’s arduous journey, and a new album of songs chronicling the path of pain and hope.
It’s been a year and a half since Steven Curtis Chapman lost his youngest daughter, 5-year-old Maria Sue, to a tragic accident at the family’s Tennessee home. Maria’s death rocked her father’s world, causing Steven and his wife, Mary Beth, to question God and their faith, while also clinging to the hope of things to come. The grieving process brought Steven, like King David, to his knees, simultaneously shouting at God while also desperately grasping for hope. Chapman journaled the journey, which he likens to penning his own Psalms—and not surprisingly, many of them turned into songs, and now his first album since Maria’s passing, “Beauty Will Rise.”
Chapman spoke with CT about losing his daughter, the “black hole” of pain and despair, and the glimmers of life they’ve clung to through the last 18 months—including the opening of Maria’s Big House of Hope, a healing home in China for special needs children. The Chapmans had already adopted two Chinese girls before Maria, so returning to China over the summer to open Maria’s Big House was a bittersweet time to both mourn Maria yet again, but to celebrate her life and legacy.
For this interview you will need to go to the CT site at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/interviews/2009/stevencurtischapman-nov09.html
The death as reported by CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/12/steven.curtis.chapman/
Steven Curtis Chapman’s website at: http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/
Broken Believer note- This interview is definitely worth it and I encourage you to take the time to explore it.
Broken Believers 