February 2, 2026
Recently, I read the book “Choosing to See” by Mary Beth Chapman. For those of you that do not know, she is the wife of recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman. On May 21, 2008 their 5 year old daughter was accidentally hit and killed by the car of their 17 year old son while he was pulling in their driveway; their family was not only faced to deal with the loss of a young child, but the torment and guilt that would now haunt their son for the rest of his life. The beauty in the book is that it not only shows hope through a monumental tragedy, but also it really looks back at the journey throughout their life that prepared them for this time of grief which helped them to be able to get through it all.
As a father and just as a fellow human, there were some spots that were difficult to read because of the great pain described; the sadness and hurt seemed incomprehensible. Within the chapters I continually found myself asking the question “How ready is my faith, or how ready am I, if catastrophe riddled my family and God were to say, ‘through this, it is now the time that I need you to light the way for others.’?”
If ultimate heartbreak were to strike, it is impossible to think that we could get through it without support nor could we handle the challenge to TRUST completely without deep roots. We need to prepare ourselves and take notice of those around us that already have experienced an unbearable pain so we may find strength during our own struggles. To me it is a sobering thought that without belief we are empty, hence there would be no “purpose” for (or within) our afflictions.
It is not just unimaginable misfortune that we need to be preparing for, but adversity in general, to step back and be able to put all things in perspective. I have suffered my own financial and personal ‘setbacks’ in my former business life but looking back now, nothing was unbearable. However, at the time, God and I had our own unique conversations in a manner I would not even allow my own children to talk to me in, but He let me vent and the He reeled me back in. When I am able to reverse the journey and look back, He held me the whole time and was never going to let me fall completely. God was just taking me further down then I thought was possible; all for the betterment of my life and who I have become and who He is asking me to be. Ultimately it is His will and not mine.
Needless to say, I love the book, and I will not let the Chapman’s misfortune go without changing me for the better and be thankful for what I have. Today, think about where you stand with your friends, your family and your faith if you should need to answer a call you are not ready for. Ask yourself, “how comfortable am I in my beliefs to handle the unthinkable and what can I begin to do today to prepare if it were to be upon me?”
“A person who lives in faith must proceed on incomplete evidence, trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” Philip Yancey
Posted by Greg Wasinski
