{"id":302103,"date":"2010-09-01T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/the-journey-of-grief\/"},"modified":"2010-09-01T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-01T15:00:00","slug":"the-journey-of-grief","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-journey-of-grief\/","title":{"rendered":"The Journey of Grief"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 21, 2008, changed their lives forever. But it didn\u2019t change their faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-09-01.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"23.65M","filesize_raw":"24797774","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822,2879],"tags":[2343,5099,2216],"podcast_series":[7751],"cwp_profile":[9210,9042],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302103","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","category-loss-of-a-child","tag-grief","tag-grieving","tag-suffering","podcast_series-choosing-to-see","cwp_profile-mary-beth-chapman","cwp_profile-steven-curtis-chapman","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302103\/the-journey-of-grief","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302103\/the-journey-of-grief","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"fRbQaHiZA5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-journey-of-grief\/\">The Journey of Grief<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-journey-of-grief\/embed\/#?secret=fRbQaHiZA5\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;The Journey of Grief&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"fRbQaHiZA5\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"May 21, 2008, changed their lives forever. But it didn\u2019t change their faith.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-09-01.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s about time that Steven gets relegated to the corner.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m saying<strong> \u2026<\/strong> I\u2019m just saying\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Push him back and let\u2019s just talk to Mary Beth!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s right!\u00a0 I will just be over here strumming my guitar if you need me.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>We need background music\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s right.\u00a0 I should provide some.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, they have been married for over 26 years.\u00a0 They have six children and their accomplishments are too numerous to mention here.\u00a0 Mary Beth has put, I think, maybe their greatest accomplishment, which is surviving a tragedy, in a book called <em>Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope. <\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI was like Bob, Mary Beth.\u00a0 I was struck by your honesty especially in telling the story of what happened on May 21, 2008.\u00a0 Before we tell that story though, there had been a number of almost storybook things happen in the days prior to that.\u00a0 I was amazed\u2014it was like you guys were living in a\u2014obviously, as you\u2019ve shared earlier, it wasn\u2019t a bubble\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You\u2019ve had struggles in your marriage, and we all know what it\u2019s like to raise a family in this culture. You were in a kind of glowing moment as a family because you were anticipating some very important things. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. We were graduating our oldest son Caleb from high school. Maria had just celebrated her fifth birthday, and the two littlest ones had graduated.\u00a0 Maria and Stevey Joy had a pre-school graduation and were headed to kindergarten.\u00a0 Right after that\u2014our daughter, who we knew was going to be swept away for the weekend to become engaged to be married. That happened on May 17, so we were at a really great place.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0You know our son knew he probably had an impending engagement coming because he had been dating his elementary sweetheart.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we say.\u00a0 They have been together since about the fourth grade.\u00a0 It was just that we were in a really sweet place of life.\u00a0 We had just on the 20<sup>th<\/sup> of May, the day before the accident, went and picked out Emily\u2019s wedding gown.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, we were just\u2014you know\u2014a mom\u2019s dream because it was my first born\u2014so it\u2019s the first wedding.\u00a0 So, yes, a lot of really great stuff was happening.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Steven, what were you doing on May 21<sup>st<\/sup>?\u00a0 I mean, it was a normal day for your family.\u00a0 You guys were just hanging out?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\u00a0 Like Mary Beth said, we had turned the dining room into \u201cwedding central.\u201d\u00a0 I was actually writing some music.\u00a0 I had decided one of my gifts to Emily would be for me to write original music for her to walk down the aisle to and for the bridesmaids to come down the aisle.\u00a0 So, it was a great day.\u00a0 It was a day; we were\u2014everything was looking forward to this real day of celebration coming.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>This was down time for you?\u00a0 You weren\u2019t touring; you weren\u2019t recording; and you just had a little time off?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.The boys had been out withbecause that\u2019s the year they had taken off of school. They had taken off the year to travel and tour with me.\u00a0 So, yes, we just kind of finished up.\u00a0 We had wrapped up the tour for some down time.\u00a0 Actually, we had just come back from China.\u00a0 We had been in China for a couple of weeks.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong> \u2026Two weeks. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven: <\/strong>\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Leading up to that to do the tour.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, I had done a tour there with the boys.\u00a0 I had done four different cities in China, which was a remarkable amazing time we just had come back from.\u00a0 We were in China May the 12<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 We were sitting in the Shang Hoi Airport May 12,2008, which is when the devastating Chinese earthquake hit.\u00a0 We heard reports.\u00a0 Friends called and said, \u201cAre you guys okay?\u00a0 There was just an earthquake there.\u201d\u00a0 We didn\u2019t feel it.\u00a0 We got on the flight\u2014flew home from Shang Hoi.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0We got home on the evening of the 12<sup>th<\/sup>, I think.\u00a0 It was the day before Maria\u2019s fifth birthday which was May 13.\u00a0 Even as we were celebrating her birthday, we were hearing all the reports of the terrible earthquake in China.\u00a0 So, we had even been praying for the people of China.\u00a0 That is another memory of that time because really our hearts were heavy even with all the joy we were experiencing, of praying for our friends in China that had lost so much.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u00a0 That bubble was interrupted, dramatically.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0Yes.\u00a0 We wrestle a lot with this.\u00a0 We have wrestled with how much of the day to tell and the actual events of the day.\u00a0 I watched my wife really, really struggle through telling this story.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 In the end, Mary Beth, you decided to tell the story very transparently.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\u00a0 I decided because of knowing that God had confirmed to Steven and I that I would write the book.\u00a0 I knew this question would come up so much in such a painful experience that it was important for me to be able to articulate it because I wanted to honor my son and I wanted to honor Maria\u2019s death because of all the things that God would do through that ultimate suffering.\u00a0 It was a very painful experience to just kind of navigate through that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would go back through it and change\u2014back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.\u00a0 At the end of the day and when all the edits were finally finished, I said, \u201cOkay, now the situation is I sit with my son and we read these chapters together and make sure that everything is as it should be.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 We feel like, with Will Franklin\u2019s permission, it\u2019s the version that needs to be told; and it\u2019s told in the book. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe retelling of it\u2014I was fearful, with all the interviews and with all the things I would be talking about, that it would become this thing that I would just go on \u201cautomatic pilot.\u201d\u00a0 I wanted it to be right, and I wanted it to be as honoring to her as it could be and as honoring to my son.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Did you fell as you were writing it like you were almost detached from it and you were being clinical with it\u2014like it had happened to someone else and not to you? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Marybeth:<\/strong>\u00a0 Not really, that\u2019s what I think what the painful part was.\u00a0 I relived it, and I relived it, and I relived it.\u00a0 It got to the point that I thought it was, \u201cOkay, I\u2019m still not finished with it so I get to relive this accident again today.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s the part I wrote first.\u00a0 I said, \u201cWe need to really concentrate on this first.\u00a0 I want to get this section of the book finished.\u201d\u00a0 So, then I could concentrate on going back and kind of reliving some of the stories.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt was kind of important for me when they approached me about the book that it wasn\u2019t just a story of Maria.\u00a0 That it wasn\u2019t that the Chapman\u2019s have this charmed life and then \u201cWham!\u201d this horrible thing happened because we have been blessed beyond measure\u2014blessed beyond measure\u2014with so many opportunities and so many awesome things and the journey that we\u2019ve been on together for the last 25 years. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s not been all charmed and all it\u2019s cracked up to be.\u00a0 There has been struggle all along.\u00a0 I said, \u201cI feel it\u2019s important that from a mother\u2019s perspective, from a mom\u2019s perspective, from a wife\u2019s perspective, that I\u2019m able to tell the story, the entire story of the struggle and the hope.\u00a0 Thus the whole story.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>One of the parts that I thought it took a lot of courage for you to write:\u00a0 It was the scene beside the grave when you told Steven to go on back to the limo while you sat there with Will.\u00a0 You said something to him\u2014it\u2019s powerful.\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019ve been beside a grave like this\u2014not the same obviously.\u00a0 Would you rather me read your words?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Marybeth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\u00a0 (<em>In a whisper)<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You turned to Will and you said, \u201cThere are no words for this.\u00a0 This is as hard as it gets; but I promise you one thing right here by your sister\u2019s grave.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be a long, long journey that won\u2019t end until we get to heaven; but it\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s really a picture of life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We don\u2019t want to admit that, you know?\u00a0 Life is not a Hollywood movie that has a good ending\u2014that has this warm, fuzzy-feeling ending.\u00a0 It\u2019s filled with a lot of tragic endings; but at the end, if you know Christ, and that\u2019s what was reflected in your statement here:\u00a0 At the end of the story, after numerous chapters, it is going to be okay.\u00a0 I just felt like your words to your son couldn\u2019t have been better stated\u2014couldn\u2019t have been more profound. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I think that the heart of a mom\u2014God gave supernatural understanding and strength because in dealing on both levels\u2014because if you can remove yourself and pretend or imagine that Maria was struck by a stranger, it\u2019s almost easier to go to that place of anger or forgiveness. You just got to picture it differently; or picture poor Will Franklin, where he accidently struck someone else\u2019s childyou would be all consumed with that.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0For me\u2014Steven and our family\u2014it was both.\u00a0 I think that only the supernatural filling of the Holy Spirit can give you the strength at that time.\u00a0 Obviously, during those days and moments, you are filled with adrenaline and all the scientific stuff that goes on, but I do believe that God gives you.\u00a0 It was very clear and very important to communicate to Will Franklin for a number of reasons.\u00a0\u00a0 He and I have always been super-close; but obviously, he loved that little girl.\u00a0 He needed to know that it\u2019s going to be okay.\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to be easy, but it\u2019s going to be okay. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0To be both a grieving mom and a ministering mom simultaneously\u2026 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 She did it one more time, Bob.\u00a0 Let me read one more section that I was drawn to.\u00a0 You said, \u201cOne day the girls were crying about missing Maria.\u00a0 They said it was so hard and you just gently put your arms around them,\u201d and you did it again, Mary Beth.\u00a0 You said, \u201cGirls, God has asked us to do hard.\u00a0 It really stinks, and I wish that we didn\u2019t have to; but this is what our family has been called to.\u00a0 If we stick together, we can do hard.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 To be able to do that, you have to have a reservoir of strength that is beyond your own, don\u2019t you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Marybeth:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Absolutely, yes.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know, without the hope that we have of seeing Maria again and watching this whole thing be redeemed and all the stories that will be told and made right and we will see the perfectness of it, I don\u2019t know what a grieving parent, a grieving mom, a grieving grandfather, grandmother does with that loss because it\u2019s really, really hard still\u2014so hard\u2014two years removed.\u00a0 The questions still come; the counseling still happens, and all of that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Steven, I am looking at Mary Beth here; and through the tears, there really is the glory of God.\u00a0 There is a light in her eyes.\u00a0 There is life there.\u00a0 You\u2019ve seen a thousand of these moments as you\u2019ve watched her counsel your kids, provide those moments of clarification.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou have to be incredibly proud of Mary Beth and how she has gone through this process and how she has come out of the other end hoping in God.\u00a0 Earlier we talked about her saying she had to ride your coat tails.\u00a0 I have to believe there have been points where you have been on her coat tails.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely!\u00a0 When we were in the hospital at Vanderbilt University, we huddled around in this state of absolute shock and just moments of knowing what we thought was probably the case but dealing with the reality in those first moments that Maria had been carried away in the arms of Jesus.\u00a0 At that moment, one of our prayers was, \u201cGod, if one of our children is being taken from us at this moment, please don\u2019t let us lose two,\u201d because we knew Will was walking on such a line of despair\u2014as we all were.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI just always remember my wife, as we huddled together and we prayed, and I had Will\u2014I had him and I was just kind of over him\u2014almost just covering him physically.\u00a0 I remember I had him in my chest and I was just covering him and in some ways feeling like I was holding back the enemy, the grief, and the guilt, and all of that.\u00a0 I was just praying with every breath. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember hearing my wife say, \u201cGuys, I don\u2019t know anything about where we are going; but as a mom, I know this destroys many families.\u00a0 The enemy has come.\u00a0 This thief has come to kill and destroy.\u00a0 He will not destroy our family over this.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOver and over again to see my wife live committed to that\u2014to speak those words of comfort to our girls, to our sons, to me as we have journeyed through this.\u00a0 I am blessed over and over again\u2014a blessed man to have seen the glory of God, to have seen faith lived out.\u00a0 I have seen it lived out in my wife.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI say it as I\u2019ve done Women of Faith Conferences; and I say, \u201cI am married to the greatest woman of faith.\u201d\u00a0 I know my wife immediately throws her hands up and says, \u201cNo!\u00a0 I am messed up; I\u2019m this; I\u2019m that; I\u2019m this; I\u2019m that,\u201d but I have watched my wife walk the journey of faith in adoption.\u00a0 Contrary to all of her emotions, all of her questions to say, \u201cGod, I trust you. I am going to follow you.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Steven:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve watched her walk through this valley of the shadow of death.\u00a0 I\u2019ve walked through, holding her hand, but watching in amazement.\u00a0 She has said, \u201cGod, I do not understand\u2014I don\u2019t get this\u2014but I do trust You and we will do what You have called us to.\u201d\u00a0 I am proud, in awe, and I see the glory of God in her. I am so blessed to walk through this with her.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> You wish there was a different route.\u00a0 Oh my goodness!\u00a0 You wish there were a different route than through the valley you had been taken through.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Mary Beth:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I would like to have detoured that one.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, give me the detour\u2026Give me the detour.\u00a0 No one can say they enjoy that kind of tragedy; but you have done life well and you continue even though it\u2019s hard, Mary Beth, to do it extremely well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Not only have you walked the journey faithfully, but you have opened your life up to shine light on the path for others who find themselves having to walk down the same path or who can learn more about God through what you have experienced.\u00a0 I appreciate the time and effort, the transparency that has gone into writing the book, <em>Choosing to SEE, <\/em>which we have in our FamilyLife Today Resource Center.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf our listeners are interested in a copy, they can go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information; or they can call 1-800-FL-TODAY, and we can get a copy of the book sent to you. Again, the website FamilyLifeToday.com or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and ask about the book <em>Choosing to SEE<\/em> by Mary Beth Chapman. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe want to let our listeners know about something that we are teaming-up on:\u00a0 Show Hope, which is the ministry that Steven and Mary Beth have started to help people with adoption, along with Focus on the Family, and FamilyLife\u2019s Hope for Orphans Ministry, and other groups. We are all teaming up to draw attention to the plight of the orphan and to how we, as a church, can respond.\u00a0 The weekend of November 5, 6 and 7\u2014that is Orphan Sunday Weekend. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTogether the partnership is working to produce a one-hour webcast that is available for churches or groups to use.\u00a0 You can get more information when you go online at FamilyLifeToday.com. The webcast is going to be hosted, by the way, by Francis and Lisa Chan. We are excited about that.\u00a0 Again, more information about the Orphan Sunday Weekend webcast can be found online at FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Click on the Orphan Sunday link you find on our website, and that will take you where the information you need can be found.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, in addition, if you can help us with a donation this week of any amount to support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, we would love to send you as a thank-you gift\u2014Steven Curtis Chapman\u2019s music CD called <em>Beauty Will Rise<\/em>, where you have poured out your heart and given us some powerful songs in response to what you have walked through here.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and make an online donation.\u00a0 Type the word \u201cCHAPMAN\u201d in the key code box on the donation form. We will send you a copy of Steven\u2019s music CD <em>Beauty Will Rise,<\/em> or call 1-800-FLTODAY and make a donation over the phone.\u00a0 Request a copy of Steven Curtis Chapman\u2019s music CD <em>Beauty Will Rise,<\/em> and we will be happy to send it out to you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLet me just say we appreciate your support of the ministry. We are listener-supported, and we depend on folks like you to make it possible. So, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance for whatever you\u2019re able to do in support of the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJust before we wrap up today, I want to make sure our listeners are aware of a special opportunity that we are making available to <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>listeners.\u00a0 It is only good for the rest of this week and next week. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs some of you know, next February, Dennis and Barbara, my wife Mary Ann and me, and Crawford and Karen Loritts, and the music groups <em>Selah,<\/em> and B<em>ig<\/em> <em>Daddy<\/em> <em>Weave<\/em>, and <em>Point of Grace,<\/em> Kirk Cameron and his wife, Shaunti Feldhahn and her husband\u2014all of us are going together on the \u201cLove Like You Mean It\u201d marriage cruise. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt leaves on South Florida on Valentine\u2019s morning. We go for a week to the Bahamas and Coco Cay.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be a fun week onboard the cruise. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are starting to fill up, and we wanted to make sure our <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>listeners had an opportunity to be with us for the cruise. We worked it out so that this week and next week, if you will sign up to come along with us Valentine\u2019s week of 2011\u2014you sign up this week or next week\u2014and you can get your stateroom at half price. It\u2019s a buy one; get one free. You sign up and you pay for yourself, and your spouse comes free. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can get all the details when you go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on the \u201cLove Like You Mean It\u201d cruise link there.\u00a0 In order to take advantage of this offer for <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listeners, when you see the promo code box up on the registration form, just type my name \u201cBOB.\u201d\u00a0 Automatically you will be recognized as a <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listener, and you will be able to take advantage of this special offer this week and next week for <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listeners. We hope you can come along. It\u2019s going to be a great week. We are looking forward to it; and we\u2019d love to meet you on the FamilyLife \u201cLove Like You Mean It\u201d marriage cruise sailing from South Florida next February. All the details are online at FamilyLifeToday.com.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow tomorrow, let me encourage you to be back with us again. Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman are going to be here, and we will continue to hear about the journey that God has had them on since the tragic death of their daughter Maria.\u00a0 I hope you can tune for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>I want to thank our engineer today Keith Lynch and our entire broadcast production team.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0On behalf of our host Dennis Rainey, I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back tomorrow for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a9 2010 FamilyLife\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t__________________________________________________________________\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would\u00a0\u00a0 you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/site\/c.dnJHKLNnFoG\/b.3782043\/k.384D\/Support_Us.htm\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.FamilyLife.com\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/302103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302103"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=302103"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=302103"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=302103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}