52 Books in 52 Weeks - Book 45: Choosing to See

I felt like a voyeur when I first picked this book up. Did I really need to read about the death of Maria Chapman as seen through the eyes of her mother? It seemed like I was being so nosy. I don't "follow" celebrities and have always wondered why so many of them publish books that give the intimate details of their lives. Stephen Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, didn't seem that "type" to me & I was a bit disturbed when I saw this book. Was this Christian family trying to make money from the death of their young daughter? I picked up Choosing to See and read the forward by Stephen Curtis Chapman and came away with a resounding "NO" as an answer to that question. Mary Beth has a story to tell - it's a story that begins long before the accidental death of her young daughter and does not yet have an ending. It is a story that tells of how God has worked in her life and how she has grown in her faith through the many struggles that she has faced in her lifetime. After reading this book, it seems as if Mary Beth is my kindred spirit. She even quoted one of my favorite authors, Dan Allender (except that she actually knows him). Most of all, this is a story about God and how he works in the lives of down to earth, real people. We are all living God's story - Mary Beth Chapman is gracious enough to share her journey with us.