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Still Blessing His Name
Two months after the tragic loss of his daughter, Steven Curtis Chapman resumes touring—and says he's found a new reason to sing.
By Elizabeth Diffin, online exclusive
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It's not often you leave a concert reflecting on the words of a song by a different artist. But as I exited the July 24 Steven Curtis Chapman event, the words of a Matt Redman worship song echoed through my head. Chapman opened the concert with "Blessed Be Your Name" just two months after the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Maria Sue, in a tragic accident at the family's home.
"Blessed Be Your Name" was also the first song Chapman sang May 21, the day of Maria's death, when he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to sing again. Inspired by the story of Job, at one point the lyrics repeat, "He gives and takes away."
"As I sang this song … it wasn't a song, it was a cry, a scream, a prayer," Chapman explained to the audience of nearly 5,000. "I found an amazing comfort and peace that surpasses all understanding."
Chapman also shared that after Maria's death, he'd reconsidered the words to all his songs and if he could still sing—and believe—them. Instead, losing his little girl brought the meaning of some of those songs into sharper focus. One example was "Yours," which addresses how everything in the world belongs to God.
"In this song, in particular, I had to come to a new realization," he said. "There's not an inch of creation that God doesn't look at and say 'all of that's mine.'"
As a result of that realization in conjunction with Maria's death, Chapman added a new verse to "Yours":
I've walked the valley of death's shadow
so deep and dark that I could barely breath.
I've had to let go of more than I could bear and
I've questioned everything that I believe.
Still even here in this great darkness
a comfort and a hope comes breaking through
as I can say in life or death
God we belong to you.
Throughout the concert Chapman used the circumstances of Maria's death, and the family's grieving, to present the gospel and the reason for his assurance that he'll see her in heaven. But the emotional high point of the concert came when Chapman sang "Cinderella," the song inspired by his two youngest daughters, Stevey Joy and Maria.
He explained that after losing Maria, "Cinderella" was the one song he thought he could never sing. But he realized that if he truly believed his little girl was dancing in heaven, he should be able to sing about dancing with her again. His voice cracking with emotion, he sang, "'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight/and she'll be gone." Those words, and the sincerity with which he sang them, brought tears to my eyes and a general stillness to the audience, despite the nearby noisy carnival rides.
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