I hope you’ll join us for our radio program tomorrow and Thursday when we’ll be talking to Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, about their journey with God and each other.
Through an award-winning career in music and the ups and downs of real life, Steven and Mary Beth say they feel “between heaven and the real world.” That phrase has become something of a caption to their lives. Pointing out God’s grace in the midst of a very troubled world is what Steven has tried to accomplish throughout his music career. But the journey hasn’t been all awards and appreciative fans. Steven and Mary Beth faced some significant adversity along the way and have had to work hard to keep their marriage together through it all.
I’m alarmed by how many young adults tell me they were raised by Christian parents who divorced. Most of these young people now say they’re afraid to make a lifelong commitment to marriage. They think, “If my mom and dad couldn’t do it, how am I going to do it?”
That was Steven’s fear. Just a few years into his marriage to Mary Beth, his Christian parents divorced. It was a shock, and Steven and Mary Beth felt like the rug had somehow been pulled out from beneath their own marriage.
Looking back, they realize that moment is when the real work of building their relationship began. Suddenly, the mantra, “Divorce isn’t even a word in our vocabulary,” wasn’t just a pithy phrase to say to themselves. They actually had to live it out.
If you and your spouse aren’t always making beautiful music together, you won’t want to miss our conversation with Steven and Mary Beth Chapman titled “Celebrating God Through Family, Faith, and Music.” I hope it’ll be something of a guidepost for you on how to think differently about your own journey through faith and marriage.
Steven and Mary Beth reflect Christ well in the spotlight God has given them. But what I love about them most is how authentic and humble they are. They’re living examples that, though God allows you to go through deep valleys, He never wastes a second of your pain. By His grace, all of your experiences become part of a greater recipe by which you’ll emerge stronger in your faith and in your relationship with your spouse.
You can hear the program on your local radio station, online, or on our free phone app, and you can also get Steven’s book, “Between Heaven and the Real World,” for a gift of any amount when you call us at 1-800-A-Family (800-232-6459). Join us, won’t you?
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