Treasure Hunt Tuesday: A Concert and More Stones of Remembrance

Do you ever feel like you keep having the same themes come back to you over and over? After writing about “stones of remembrance” last week (click here if you’d like to read that post), the topic has kept coming up again the past several days as well.

Sunday night I was blessed to be able to see Steven Curtis Chapman in concert, and it brought back so many memories for me from over the years with his music and how it often has encouraged me in my own relationship with God.

Steven also told stories from his personal journey of life and faith, and he mentioned that his songs are stones of remembrance for him (yes, he used that exact phrase) that remind him of God’s faithfulness at each step. After sharing a bit more, he led us all in singing the beautiful hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness together. It was especially touching to me because that is probably my favorite of the old hymns, and I have such a history with that song in many moments and seasons of my own life, too.

I think back on how many of Steven’s songs have been so impactful for me in my journey of faith as well, with many personal stones of remembrance brought back to my mind throughout the evening.

Honestly, the first time one of his songs touched my heart, it was before I had really even heard of him or knew who he was. Growing up, I was in an area that was a little out of the loop with the most current Christian music, but almost every year my family attended the North American Christian Convention, where I enjoyed the youth worship sessions. We also especially followed a group from Ozark Christian College called the Impact Brass & Singers because a family friend was serving with them for a while. One year when I was in junior high, we attended their performance with the theme “Inside Out,” and I was completely captivated by the songs and dramatic skits they shared.

But one song in particular grabbed my heart.

Today I watched in silence as people passed me by,
And I strained to see if there was something hidden in their eyes;
But they all looked back at me as if to say,
“Life just goes on.”

The old familiar story told in different ways,
Make the most of your own journey from the cradle to the grave;
Dream your dreams tomorrow because today
Life must go on.

But there’s more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there’s more than this life alone can be.

~ “More to This Life” by Steven Curtis Chapman

The young man from the college who sang it had such a passion in his voice, and the lyrics impressed upon my heart that there was so much more to life with Christ than just going to church and trying to do what’s right. My parents bought the cassette tape from the concert for me, and I pretty much wore it out playing it over and over. (Yes, this was in the days of cassettes, and yes, I still have it!)

But wasn’t until For the Sake of the Call was released that somehow I started recognizing the name Steven Curtis Chapman and put together that he had also written More to This Life as well as Treasure Island, which was another song on that Impact Brass cassette I’d been playing.

So Sunday night when Steven started painting the word picture of Jesus’ disciples leaving everything to follow Him, my heart was pulled in afresh with tears coming to my eyes at these words:

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call.

No other reason at all but the sake of the call;

Wholly devoted to live and to die

For the sake of the call.

~ “For the Sake of the Call” by Steven Curtis Chapman

Oh how I pray those words could be said of me. I long to abandon everything of this world for the sake of knowing Jesus and following His call.

Another theme Steven wove throughout the night of stories and songs was from this verse:

“We can make our plans,

but the LORDdetermines our steps.”

~ Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

He told how he has found this to be true over and over in the Great Adventure of his life with God and with his family, especially when it came to having children. Steven shared how he and his wife Mary Beth had planned to wait longer before starting a family, but God had other ideas, and they soon became pregnant with their daughter Emily. Then after having a total of three children over several years, they definitely thought their family was complete, but again God determined their steps differently than they had planned.

Steven articulated how Emily went on a mission trip at age 11 and came back brokenhearted for children all over the world who didn’t have families. It wasn’t just a passing moment of concern, but it persisted as a passion of her heart. She continually prayed that God would allow her family to adopt a child, and she read books to her parents to educate them on the orphan crises around the world. She even offered to share her room if they would bring home a child in need of a family.

Finally after much prayer not only by Emily but also by Steven and Mary Beth, they were persuaded, and God led them to adopt a little girl from China, Shaohannah Hope. Later the Chapmans also added Stevey Joy to their family, and then Maria.

One night a few years later but while Stevey Joy and Maria were still young, Steven regretted his tone with them as he insisted they go straight to bed when they were begging to stay up and dance with him, pretending to be princesses in their play dresses. Brokenhearted and frustrated with himself for letting the burdens of stress and work he carried keep him from enjoying precious moments with his daughters, he wrote what has become one of his most-beloved songs, Cinderella. He vowed,

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew.
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella;
I don’t wanna miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone.

~ “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman

However, all too soon and all too tragically, the Chapmans’ world was rocked when young Maria died in an accident just outside their home. Steven thought he would never be able to sing again, and especially not that song. But God has continued to send their family reminders of His closeness and love, giving them stones of remembrance where they could SEE His care and provision, even as they have been devastated and brokenhearted, still grieving with hope.

It was a powerful moment Sunday night as he did sing Cinderella, adding an extra line at the end to share the hope for himself and for us that we can know, because of Christ, “the dance will go on.” He then continued the hopeful reminders, flowing directly into this chorus:

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding;

Just you wait and SEE and you will be amazed.

You’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over,

So hold on to every promise God has made to us

And watch this glorious unfolding.

~ “Glorious Unfolding” by Steven Curtis Chapman

This song has been such an encouragement to me personally over the last few years as well. I so appreciate the reminder that at times when it feels like the end is closing in around us, in light of eternity it really is “just the beginning of the beginning.” And we can look forward to a glorious unfolding of God’s plans and provision in our lives.

As Steven so beautifully shared his story woven together with the songs of his heart, he encouraged us that his story is no more special than anyone else’s. Yet there is something of ministry and mutual encouragement in being able to share our stories with others and remember God’s faithfulness together. I am so grateful.

I’d love to hear a bit of your story this week, too! What is something that has reminded you of God’s faithfulness in your life? Who might need to hear that encouragement today? Are there any special songs that remind you of how God has shown His closeness and love to you? Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message on social media anytime!

A few bonus notes:

** Ebenezer stones of remembrance were also a theme on Monday’s That Sounds Fun podcast with Annie F. Downs. She interviewed Jonathan Pitts, husband of the late Wynter Pitts, who passed away the day they turned in their book on marriage that was recently published. If you could use encouragement on walking through grief or would like to hear more of their story, I would definitely recommend listening to Jonathan’s conversation with Annie.

** If you have a history with Steven Curtis Chapman’s music in your own life, you might also enjoy this blog post by Jenny Simmons (formerly of Addison Road) from several years ago. I just had to look it up: The Soundtrack of My Life by Jenny Simmons

Honestly, I’ve been wanting to write a post like hers chronicling my own life in songs by various artists, but I don’t know that I would ever finish it (or that anyone would have the time to read it)! It might not be a good idea to tell you how many times I’ve tried to start writing or outlining it over the past five-plus years, but I keep deciding it’s not time yet. Maybe one day… But truly so many songs have touched my life and marked certain seasons or events so deeply. For now I will just say I am grateful for how God provides over and over in such personal ways.

** If you’d like to know more about why SEE is written in capital letters and so important to the Chapmans’ story with Maria, check out Mary Beth Chapman’s book, Choosing to SEE, or Steven’s book, Between Heaven & the Real World.

** Show Hope is an organization founded by the Chapman family to help people who have the heart for international adoption but not the financial resources to complete the process. To find out more about their adoption stories or to make a donation, visit Show Hope’s website here.