Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman, best known for hits such as "Cinderella" and "I Will Be Here," shared the heartbreaking experience he and his wife Mary Beth endured over the loss of their five-year-old adopted daughter Maria in his new memoir, "Between Heaven and the Real World: My Story."
Chapman told Religion News Service that it just felt right to share this story now, and he wanted the world to know about the high and low points of his life.
One of the biggest struggles Chapman faced in life was the accidental death of Maria back in 2008. He and his wife adopted Maria from China. They were thrilled to consider her as their daughter, and she fit in with their family like a glove, he said.
But on May 21, 2008, Maria's brother Will accidentally ran over her while he was driving the family SUV. Maria ran towards him in the hopes of getting a lift on the monkey bars, but he never saw her. The family attempted to resuscitate the young girl, but it was no use.
Chapman can still remember praying to God in the hospital to save his daughter, but He did not answer. The singer said he's thankful he got to write his memoir because "I got to finally share in great detail what that journey was like and how desperate I was and determined that God was gonna answer that prayer or I wasn't leaving the room."
"It took my wife whispering to me and encouraging me that the answer wasn't going to be what I wanted in that moment," he continued. "I believe it's a process of having to trust God. It really comes down to a matter of choice to say 'I'm going to trust you, as foolish as it may feel right now. But I have nowhere else to turn.'"
During an interview with The Tennesseean back in 2015, Chapman said that Maria's death was so unbearable that he would go somewhere just to scream until his voice was almost gone. They didn't know how to move on after the tragedy, but their faith sustained their family.
"It... still doesn't make sense. But I never felt like God had abandoned us," he said.
