What Parents Can Learn from Maria Sue Chapman's Tragic Death

My eyes quickly scanned through the US Weekly magazines that I'm months behind on reading. They rested on the story of Maria Sue Chapman and Steven Curtis Chapman, which hadn't received media attention in our home in England. As soon as I started to read the page, my heart dropped as I realized how Maria Sue Chapman had died--being hit by car, in the driveway, by a sibling.

Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman spoke out Thursday for the first time about his daughter's death and how their faith has helped them. Even in the face of tragedy, the Chapman family seems more determined than ever to reach out to God, to the world, and to do good. Looking at my two daughters playing in front of me, I don't know if I could do it. I find myself questioning my own parenting, and looking for ways that I can prevent this time of unpreventable tragedy from striking my own family.

The Chapman family spoke to Good Morning America on Wednesday and then with Larry King Live on Thursday August 7th. Christian Today reports that during the interviews, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Sue Chapman were candid about their daughter Maria Sue's death, how the family is coping with the tragedy, and how their son is coping with the accident. Chapman insists that the family isn't at peace, but that they are trying to have faith even without seeing the reasons behind their daughter's death. Wife Mary Beth Chapman admitted in the interview to how much she, understandably, misses her daughter and wishes that she were still with them. The family is building an orphanage in China in their daughter's name, and continuing to cope and grow every day.