Funeral For Little Maria Chapman & Pastor Releases Statement
The world doesn’t seem right when a child dies. Five year old Maria Chapman, daughter of gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman, passed away after being struck by a vehicle driven by her older brother. The Chapman’s pastor, Scotty Smith told CBN News that the outpouring of love and support for the family is overwhelming and spoke of the grief the family is experiencing. Of the son who hit Maria he said:
“He understandably is just devastated. Their beautiful home has a couple of bends in the road. It just was totally an accident and this young man’s heart is crushed.”
Mr. Smith has been a friend of the family’s for over 20 years. He urges people not to forget Maria’s brother in their prayers.
“I encourage all to just redouble their prayers. because we all can predict how the enemy will try and whisper in his heart,” he said.
Visitation for Maria will start today, May 23 at the Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. Her memorial service will be held Saturday, May 24 at 11 a.m.
Our prayers for Maria’s brother hope he can forgive himself and know that he has thousands upon thousands of people praying for him.
Of course our prayers are with the entire Chapman family, particularly for Maria’s brother. The kind of guilt he may experience is false guilt. It does not come from our heavenly Father. The Father places guilt on us for conviction of sin. That is NOT what this is. This is a tragedy that has been strained through our Creator’s hands. Devastating, yes..but in no way should it be connected to guilt. I pray that each one of this remembers that not only for the Chapman’s, but in our own lives as well. False guilt can keep us from moving forward and glorifying God in all we do. My prayer continues to be that through this, the Chapman’s will feel God’s presence in a mighty way and that He make His majesty more real to them than ever. They are a God-glorifying family and will grieve, but their hope remains in heaven and unity–with their daughter and our Lord in the time to come.