Beauty Will Rise

In May of 2008 Steven Curtis Chapman and his family experienced a painful loss with the tragic death of their adopted daughter Maria. Since that time, I have carefully watched and listened to see/hear how God would minister to this family. After purchasing his new CD "Beauty Will Rise" it's easy to see that God has been faithful to this family. My heart is overwhelmed (and my eyes filled with tears) every time I listen to the collection of songs.

What is interesting about this CD is that inside the cover there is a description of the songs and how they were inspired. Although you may find it hard to listen to these songs without being moved to tears, if you are going through difficulties in life it will minister to you.

On the cover you will see that a flower dots the "i" in the word "rise." It's an all-important flower: only one of the petals has been colored. I want to share the story with you and the way God used it to help bring healing to the family.

"The day after Maria went to Heaven, Mary Beth and I went to our house with friends to get some clothes for the next few days. (We had decided to stay with our friends...until we felt we could return to our house for good.) We walked from room to room feeling like we were lost in some terrible dream and tried to imagine ever living in this house again that had suddenly become so terribly quiet and empty. As I walked through the dining room, I noticed a piece of paper on Maria's little art table where she and her sister would spend hours coloring and drawing and cutting and gluing. (Maria especially loved the gluing part!) On that piece of paper was a flower that had been drawn and colored with markers. It was one of Maria's signature flowers that she loved to draw, but this one appeared to be unfinished as only one of the 6 petals was colored in with blue marker...the others were just outlined. Then I noticed something was written with marker on the back side of the paper.

"Now let me back up for just a minute and explain one other part of this story. Shortly after Maria had been carried away to Jesus, all of us, and particularly Caleb and I began to talk about how desperate we were just to 'SEE' something...a dream or a vision...anything that would help confirm in some tangible way what we were holding onto by faith, that Maria was truly 'okay', and even more than 'okay', that she was safe in the arms of Jesus. It was a plea that I heard us all say several times in those first hours...'God, please just let us 'SEE' something!'

"So...back to the flower artwork on the table...I turned the page over and was completely stunned to find a word written on the back in Maria's handwriting. To any of our knowledge she knew only 6 words that she could write...'I love you,' 'Mom,' 'Dad,' and her name, 'Maria.' But there on the back of the paper she had written in all capital letters the word, 'SEE'. Even as one who is usually careful not to attach more meaning to something than it deserves, I was and still am completely convinced that this was a precious 'gift' from the broken heart of our Father in Heaven delivered through our daughter's own hand the very morning before she left us for Heaven...I could picture the face of our little girl smiling at us and saying, 'SEE mom and dad, SEE everybody, it's just like you said, only so much better...and I really am okay!' And it was our Father's way of saying, 'SEE with eternal eyes, SEE that I have your little girl safe and sound with me, and SEE by faith My promise of the day that's coming very soon when I will make everything new and wipe every last one of these tears from your eyes.'

"It wasn't until several days later that we also began to recognize a significance in the 'unfinished' flower that she had drawn on that same paper. Of the six petals, only one was colored in with her favorite color, blue. Of our six children, only one has been completely 'colored in' and made whole. The rest of us are still waiting for that coming day when finally we will clearly and completely SEE! 1 Cor. 13:12."

The story I just shared with you was written before the lyrics of the song "SEE". The scripture reference reads: "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." The chorus of the song reads: "Saying SEE, it's everything you said that it would be - And even better than you would believe - And I'm counting down the days until you're here with me - And finally you'll SEE"

"Beauty Will Rise" will stir your emotions and your spirit. You will find the strength that comes from God during times of great heartache and uncertainty. I'm so thankful that Steven Curtis Chapman shared with us his heart through this collection of songs. May God continue to give peace and courage to this family. May His presence be felt daily in their midst.

"Out of these ashes - Beauty will rise - And we will dance among the ruins - We will SEE it with our own eyes - Out of these ashes - Beauty will rise - For we know joy is coming in the morning - In the morning - Beauty will rise."

*The song lyrics posted from "SEE" and "Beauty Will Rise" are from Steven Curtis Chapman - Copyright 2009 One Blue Petal Music/Primary Wave Brain (Chapman Sp. Acct.)/ MBSEE Songs (BMI). Album title: "Beauty Will Rise" produced by Brent Milligan and Steven Curtis Chapman. Copyright 2009 Sparrow Records.