Last friday was a night I will remember for a long time if not forever.

 

A night of worship, a night of incredible music and a night of deep healing within my soul.

 

I attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert.

 

I can imagine you are all reading this and thinking “What a concert, the woman is off her head”  but let me tell you the background to it all and maybe you will understand a little better.

 

To be honest I cannot remember the exact date or time I was introduced to the music of Steven Curtis Chapman but it came via a link on Facebook from a dear friend who simply told me to listen to this man “he is singing your heart”.

 

No truer words were written.

 

An awful tragedy had happened to the Chapman family in May 2008, they had faced the loss of their beautiful daughter Maria Sue. Of course their hearts had been broken and it was in the midst of this heartbreak that SCC wrote the cd “Beauty will rise”.

 

As my friend had said he was singing my pain, Steven’s words described my anguish, my sorrow but most of all he shared my hope.

 

Our daughters had gone to soon but one day we will be reunited in heaven. Death is not the end, we hold on to the promise of eternity.

To try and describe how SCC music has effected me is so hard at times I can honestly say I am sure his music has saved me, saved my sanity. Those endless nights when my grief became unbearable and my thoughts were so dark Steven Curtis Chapman’s music became my light.

 

So as you can imagine when I found out he was finally touring here in the UK I was so excited. The tickets went online at 4am in the morning, I completed checkout at 4.04am, our tickets were numbered 1 and 2.

 

Obsessive YES

 

Excited – VERY

 

FInally the night was here, I was going to see SCC I was so excited i couldn’t breathe.

 

The concert was opened by Steven’s son’s band CALEB. They were awesome the talent in those three boys musically was plain to see. I promise they are stars of the future. Even though I was trembling at the prospect of seeing Steven Curtis I was impressed enough to get lost in their music.

 

Then the main attraction Mr Steven Curtis Chapman hit the stage.

 

He was amazing, his voice was incredible. His heart was evident in all of his songs, a God given talent for sure. I was memorized.

 

Then SCC started singing one of my loved songs, Cinderella and I couldn’t breathe. My heart just seemed to stop, all the grief I had been holding inside, all the pain of losing Livvy came rushing back into my soul.

 

Steven then spoke about losing Maria and his families loss and my heart was slowly cracking into a million pieces. I wanted to scream out loud I WANT MY DAUGHTER BACK. Yet as he sang the lyrics of the song Beauty will rise they began to echo in my mind I felt the amazing love of God fall upon me, the tears they fell as Jesus held me tightly in his arms.

 

Out of these ashes… beauty will rise

and we will dance among the ruins

We will see Him with our own eyes

Out of these ashes… beauty will rise

For we know, joy is coming in the morning…

in the morning, beauty will rise

Beauty will rise and one day I will be reunited with my darling Livvy. One day I will hold my sweet blond haired blue eyed angel again.

This evening, this concert was such a healing experience for me, my heart broke and was slowly glued back together by the music of Steven Curtis Chapman and the love of our amazing God. I never wanted the night to end.

 

Truly inspirational

Yet my joy wasn’t to end there, during the interval I had been chatting to one of the ladies who were part of the Trevor KIng team working on the promotional items and I was telling her about the cd “Beauty will Rise” and what it meant to me. She didn’t say a lot but asked me to return to see her after the concert where she presented me with a signed CD from Steven himself. I think I floated home, I was so moved.

 

I’m not the kind of person who worships singers, movie stars etc, in fact it is known iIget really cynical  at the screaming fans etc, but last friday night I was one of those screaming obsessed fans.

 

Steven Curtis Chapman was amazing and to say that the evening is one to remember doesn’t seem to do it justice. It was an evening my heart may never forget!

 

If Livvy ever meets Maria Sue in heaven I pray she tells her that her fathers music has lifted my heart.

 

If one day I ever got to meet SCC I would thank him from my heart for having the courage and strength to share his heart and in doing so bringing me so much comfort and sharing the hope of our Saviours promise.