Another Good Man Facing Tragedy

The news brought me to tears.

Those of us familiar with Steven Curtis Chapman, his music and his family life, know what a Godly, family-oriented man he is. On his albums you will find numerous songs about his wife and children showing his love of them to be the natural extension of his love of God. His work helping Chinese orphans find a good home is well documented. He not only talks the talk but walks it out. He does not simply point his finger at others and preach, but sets an excellent example by raising three adopted daughters of his own.

He was instrumental in helping one of my friends adopt two Chinese orphans. He even autographed a guitar for my friend to auction off to raise money to help with the adoption expenses.

I have felt the pain of loss when it comes to my children. When my wife left, I lost much of the precious, fleeting time we are given with our children and I was relegated to being an every-other-weekend-dad. That was a bitter pill to swallow. I still feel the sting of it to this day when I stop and think about it. But, that can hardly compare with what our brother must be feeling right now.

I know all of the clichés: she is indeed in a better place, our children are indeed only entrusted to us for a short period of time, her family will indeed be reunited with her again one day, and God will indeed bring good out of what is by any measure tragic. And the truth is that she was blessed in her short life to know true love. She has moved from being orphaned to being in a loving home to now dwelling in the pure presence of Love.

All of those clichés and facts are absolutely true, yet we cannot escape the feeling of sadness in this tragedy.

This is one of those cases where you have to ask why such horrible things happen to such good people.