Bread for Life: “See”

By: Jackie B. Yates

          A recent tragedy struck the family of Steven Curtis Chapman.  They experienced the loss of one their children Maria Sue.  Maria was five years old, the youngest of three adopted children.  Will Franklin, Steven’s seventeen-year-old son was coming home and Maria happy to see him, ran into the path of their SUV, and was killed. When asked how the family could overcome such a tragedy Steven replied, “We have talked a lot about the process of grieving with hope.  That is what has kept us breathing, kept us alive is that while we are grieving this process, there is a hope we have that we’re anchored to in the midst of just what sometimes seems unbearable.  In an interview with Larry King, the Chapman family talked about their tragic loss and the process of grieving with hope.  Steven commented, “On the day Maria died we gathered around her body and just prayed that God would show us she was alright and with him in Heaven”.  Upon returning home after the process any family endures in the loss of a loved one, Mary Beth discovered a drawing on Maria’s little desk of a flower with six petals, one of which was colored blue.  Only one word written – “SEE”.  Steven and Mary Beth smiled and said, “Maria had never written that word before and we knew right then she was whole and with Jesus.  It gave us a way to start the process of grieving with hope, and continuing our lives.”

          “SEE” – are we able to see, in the midst of storms in our lives, or are we paralyzed beyond the ability of living during pending tragedies, trials, and troubles we all face?  Can you “SEE” the loving face of Jesus with you or the face of opposition?  Can you “SEE” the miracles God bestowed upon you in the midst of these problems and trials?

          My family received a recent miracle and I found the ability to “SEE” the love of my Father in Heaven.  My son, Chase about five weeks ago, was deployed with his unit in the National Guard to the Republic of Georgia near Russia to train with the troops of Georgia.  He returned home on August 2^nd, and on the sixth of August, the conflict between Georgia and Russia began killing thousands and leaving an incredible path of destruction exactly where Chase was stationed.  My wife Tena had horrific nightmares of Chase dying during his deployment.  She said, “I had a dream of looking at Chase in a casket at his funeral”.  Nightmares that caused her to pray for hours during the nights he was gone.  To “SEE” the miracle of a son returned safely before what one can only describe as horror in the Georgian conflict, is humbling from the core of a parent’s heart.  However, there are times when I have trouble seeing through the midst of storms.  I have heart-wrenching trials when I cry out for God to end the pain in my life.  And I capture His heart in words like 1 Peter 4: 1 – 2, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.  As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

            I think what is most important is we live in the present with the hope Steven continues to live through in his family’s tragedy - one of certainty of our Father’s love for us during suffering.  So many of us live out the trials and tragedies for years reflecting upon past failures, problems, and we miss what is in front of us.  We can miss our children growing up – each precious moment with them.  Steven’s most recent song, “Cinderella”, share lyrics that we should hold dear to our souls – “So I will dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms, cause I know something the prince never knew.  Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don’t want to miss even one song, cause all to soon, the clock will strike midnight and she’ll be gone”.  Embrace the present and “SEE” the miracle of God during times of suffering, because the past is history, the future is a mystery, that’s why we have the gift of today – that’s why it’s called – the present.

In His Grip