I am reading an amazing book called, Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman. It is a contemporary testimony of the grace of God. It is a precious work, a treasure, and I can hardly put it down.
I went with my friend, Sarah, to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert a few months before his little girl, Maria was killed. He brought all three of his little adopted girls, including Maria, out on the stage where we, the whole audience fell in love with them. Watching him interact with his little handmaids was a delightful and precious sight. He had just written his tender song, Cinderella, and there wasn't a dry eye in the place as he performed it for us.
Five year old, Maria was ran over and killed just a few months later. It is silly, I know, but I felt like I had personally known this family. I was devastated for them.
I hesitated buying this book because I have recently lost a little six-year-old friend to death who really was like family.I miss her terribly. I knew that the book would have sadness in it, sadness similar to mine. I wasn't sure that I could take it.
The valley of the shadow of death from Psalm 23 has many meanings. Well, I think so. When we are in the valley of the shadow of a loved one's death I think we must be carried for awhile. The wound is deep and the hurt is haunting. The pain is brutal. We would never survive such a path on our own. The Lord will carry us through, and sometimes we need to feel Him with flesh on. It is then that He sends someone in the body of Christ to help us. Regardless of the company, it is a difficult path, and sometimes it seems that we will never see light at the end of such a seemingly dark tunnel. But the truth is that we will, and though we can't see it, the Light will be with us and never leave us the whole time.
I love the forward in Mary Beth's book by Beth Moore, and several of the inspirational quotes. This is the quote that I chose to put on my FB profile page today:
"A person who lives in faith must proceed on incomplete evidence, trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse. " Philip Yancey
This is not a book about death. It isn't a book about losing. It is a book about hope and it has the potential to bless anyone who reads it.
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I read the book in one day and it is written in a wonderfully real way. Yes I cried but there is hope... and healing.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed reading this book...thank you,dear Cheri, for sending it to me! I don't think I'll ever forget that concert we went to and seeing those precious girls in person. I read this book in 3 days, laughing and crying the whole way :) I finished even more grateful for the hope we have in Jesus...a hope that doesn't disappoint! Love you, Cheri!
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