One of my Christmas gifts was the new Steven Curtis Chapman CD, "Beauty Will Rise." First of all, let me say, I love Steven Curtis Chapman. He is by far my favorite Christian musician. I've grown to enjoy other, newer folks like Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, but Steven is my favorite. I love him because he's an amazing songwriter, a great guitar player, has an outstanding voice and his heart for Jesus is so evident in every single word. He writes of the love, wholeness, joy, hope and peace found in walking with Jesus. I love him because years ago, a friend of mine got his autograph for me at a music conference. With it, I got a bonus, the signature of his then very little girl, Emily. That's the kind of guy he is. I love him because one time when I met him before a concert he signed lots of items for my 9th grade girls Sunday School class. During the concert it all got stolen. I went to the artist signing afterward, he recognized me and he took the time to re-sign multiple things for me even though his handler kept saying "one item per artist." I love him because that same night I got to have a conversation with him afterward and he let me pray over him because I saw the weariness in him at that late hour. I love him because he does stuff like give backstage passes to the girl who was one of his childhood sweethearts (my friend Angela) and her family. I saw him treat her like he just saw her yesterday with genuine love and interest in her relatively mundane life. I love him because he listens to his children and his God. It was that little girl Emily who one day when she got a little older and heard of the plight of orphaned girls in China suggested, no insisted, that the Chapman family adopt.
Steven and MaryBeth who had three teenaged children, Emily, Will Franklin and Caleb, followed God's heart and adopted. Eventually they adopted three little girls, Shaohannah, Stevie Joy and Maria. They started a foundation to help families that wanted to adopt both internationally and domestically. They took God at his word and lived out true religion by taking care of the orphan. They seemed to have the perfect life, a blessed life. On May 21, 2008, it all took a tragic turn. The family had just experienced Caleb (the youngest son's) graduation and Emily's engagement, joyous family moments, when something horrible happened. Will Frankin was pulling into the driveway and accidently hit the youngest child, Maria. Maria did not survive the accident and the Chapman family was thrown into a place they had never been before, a place of overwhelming grief and pain. I still can't imagine. It's hard enough to deal with the loss of a child, but to double it by having it happen accidently by another of your children? It somehow double the grief, doubles the questions.
"Beauty Will Rise" is a picture of Steven's walk through the days following Maria's death. Every single song is full of raw emotion, questions and heartbreak. It's a truly beautiful album, not because of the orchestration or the electronic wizardry of the engineering; it is beautiful because of it's honesty. Chapman's songs in the past have been full of faith, hope and joy. In these songs, the questions and pain sit on top and the hope, faith and joy sit underneath. It's there, there is not despair in these songs, but it is evident that lately the questions and pain have been on the surface of his life. It was recorded it hotel rooms, by lakes, in hotel ballrooms and church foyers (ah the wonders of modern recording) so it is not slick, but it does not need slick. I would suggest that you buy the CD rather than download it, simply to sit and read the liner notes. He goes into detail about where in the process of his pain these songs were born. It will make you cry again.
My favorite songs are "Heaven is the Face," "Just Have to Wait," and "Faithful" and "Jesus Will Meet You There." "Heaven is the Face" is the first track on the CD. It opens with "Heaven is the face of a little girl, with dark brown eyes that disappear when she smiles. Heaven is the place where she calls my name. Says, "Daddy please come and play with me for a while. God I know it's all of this and more, but God you know know that this what I'm aching for. God, you know I just can't see beyond the door." My first thought through my tears was, "Wow, this is going to be a rough journey." Then I came upon "Just Have to Wait" where he says, "I can't wait to watch your brother's face, when he can finally see with his own eyes that everything is okay." "Faithful" proclaims, "You are faithful, you are faithful. When you give and when you take away, even then still your name is Faithful. You are faithful, and with everything inside of me, I'm choosing to believe, you are faithful." "Jesus Will Meet You There" extends the journey out from the Chapman family to others, recognizing that just as Jesus has met them in their circumstances, Jesus will meet you in your moments as well.
I said that you should buy the CD so that you could experience this CD on another level. I will not spoil that experience for you, just believe me when I say that through reading the words and the stories behind them, you see how God has walked with them through this horribly painful year and half.
I said earlier that I love Steven Curtis Chapman and this CD gives me additional reasons to add to my list. As someone who has had what seems to be more than my share of pain in this life, this CD gave voice to things I wish I was able to put into words and music. For someone who hasn't walked that kind of road, maybe it might seem like a place that shouldn't have been gone to in Christian music. I for one though am grateful for the fact that "Beauty Will Rise."
