Yesterday morning, August 6, on ABC's Good Morning America they had the first public interview with Stephen Curtis Chapman, his wife, and family since the accidental death of Maria, their 5 year old daughter.
The family told their story with dignity and character as much as they were allowed. They were composed and honest. However the names of "God" or "Jesus Christ" were never mentioned at all in the 9 minute piece. I don't blame the Chapmans for this. I believe that the interview was edited purposely with that exclusion. Even Robin Robert's introduction to the piece blatantly omits the family's faith in God as part of what is getting them through this very difficult time in their lives.
The only references as to how being Christians has helped them in their situation were Stephen's phrase "grieving with hope" and Mary Beth's "I know because of my faith that she is completely whole... and I will see her again". Will Franklin, the brother, who was driving the car involved in the accident, mentioned "faith" and growing despite the pain of grief. His sister, Emily, referred to her grief as a road with easy and difficult areas. Very similar to the God guided path written about in Psalms 23.Caleb allued to the fact that Will Franklin is not just his "for real" brother but his spiritual brother as well.
I can't help but wonder how much more inspiring this interview would have been if it was on a Christian news program and not a network news show. The family was scheduled to be on Larry King Live on CNN tonight too. I missed the original airing of the interview but I'm going to try and find a rebroadcast of it.
A few more things about the GMA interview. You can watch it for yourself if you copy this link into your Internet browser: http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/. This will take you to Steven Curtis Chapman's website which has a link to the interview on the ABC News site.(this may change over time so don't hold me to it)
Also, did you see the way Diane Sawyer struggled with talking about the family as she was wrapping up the segment? Had she been told not to say or refer to certain words like "faith" or "God"? Hmmm?
Finally I did like that the final thing Steven said in the piece was a mention of his certainty of the hope that he will someday once again dance with Maria. For those of us who know the joy that is set before us because we belong to Jesus Christ there is nothing anyone in this world can do will that ever take away that hope.
PS: (written 3:30 PM Aug 8) I did manage to DVR the Larry King program on CNN and I watched it this morning. The hour long interview was 100% better than the GMA feature. The family all appreared together and spoke openly of their faith and how it has helped them through the ordeal both as individuals and as a family. I Just wanted to let you know that the family came across as more like they really are than they did on GMA.
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