Today was a good day. We had a great morning of worship at our church. We always feel such comfort each time we enter the doors and God has given us wonderful friends to grow together with in Christ. I often think back to the first few months of living in Nashville and the search for our church home. We visited several churches in the area and many of them were wonderful but we never felt at home until we walked into Clearview. We knew that God was leading us there. God knew what was ahead and that we were going to need the love and support of His church. It is a great journey and I feel incredible comfort in the fact that I am not the one in control. It helps me to look back and remember all that God has done for us in the past; it reminds me that He is still working in our lives now. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is no way to measure the peace that that gives me in my heart.
After church we went to lunch with our friends and saw Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth eating lunch. I grew up in Paducah, KY and actually was very close to his extended family. One of my best friends was Beth Chapman and she is Steven's first cousin. To my great excitement, I met Steven and Mary Beth a couple of times when I was young. Today I went over to him and introduced myself to him again and told him that I grew up in Paducah, knew Beth, etc. My Dad was also pastor of FBC in Paducah, which he remembered. He then said, "Yes, I remember you came over to the house, it was during the holidays." I was 14 years old! Hard to believe how long ago that was. What was most amazing to me though was that God used this today to minister to my heart in a way that only He can. As I told them how much their family has been in my thoughts and prayers over the past several months, I looked into the eyes of Mary Beth and my heart hurt deeply for her. To know the love a mother has for her child made it so profound. I try and imagine what she must be going through every day after the loss of their daughter. There are not even words to describe the pain she must be experiencing. I remember seeing their wonderful interview on Larry King Live and how when they were asked if they were angry at God, they said no. I'm sure there are many people who watched that interview that do not have a relationship with Christ and therefore do not understand how the Chapmans could say such a thing. I was thankful that they spoke their hearts to the world in that way. Though hard to understand, it was a deeply truthful answer. We will never understand on this side of eternity why God allows bad things to happen, especially in the lives of those who have dedicated their lives to serving Him. What we are promised, however, is that He will work all things together for good in the lives of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. God used that moment today to remind me of all that I have to be thankful for in my life. In the midst of my own sadness, I looked into the eyes of another mother who is grieving so deeply and in a way that I can't even imagine. To know that I could walk back to my table and pick my baby up in my arms and hold her had new meaning. It encouraged me to thank God for what I have been given. We can't take one moment for granted. I will continue to lift the Chapman family up in prayer and will not forget how God used them to speak to my heart today.
