Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman

I just finished reading the book Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman

Man... what a book!

I loved it from the beginning. I love how real Mary Beth is. She describes herself as the complete opposite of Steven. He's a glass-half-full kind of guy and she's a glass half empty gal.

She tells a bit about how they met, and how SCC got started in his career.

She shared about her bio children, and her battle with depression, and the steps that led them to adoption. If you have heard the story at all you will remember that Emily, their first daughter went on a mission trip with Mary Beth to Haiti. That trip broke little Emily's heart for the orphan and she began a campaign to get her parents to adopt a child. (Much like when Z our oldest told us we should adopt...funny how kids get that seed planted)

Steven was all for it, Mary Beth, not so much. They prayed and then God told them to move forward.

I loved reading about Mary Beth's honesty in wondering if she would ever love a child that wasn't her's biologically, how she would be able to handle the stress that comes with adding a child to the family, more so an adopted one.

Then the miracle that was Shaohannah's gotcha day and what it did to her heart. How it healed her in many places and how God showed her what it meant to be His child.

She then shares the stories of Stevey Joy's adoption (Steven wasn't convinced that they should adopt again...he was looking for his...wait for it... yep you guessed it a Burning Bush I totally had to read that part to D!!), she told of Sweet Maria's adoption story, and how Show Hope began.

Of course she shares the tragic events of the day Maria went on to be with Jesus, and the pain the family is continuing to live through as a result. It's also about healing and the way God is showing them about His love, His Grace and His Strength.

One of the things that struck me is the grief that Mary Beth feels...the whole family feels... at the loss of Maria. Maria wasn't just an adopted child. She was THEIR child. She was loved as much as any of their other children. She was all black hair, little brown eyes, sticky fingers and she lived her life BIG. She was their child. The grieving done over her loss isn't any less than that of a child Mary Beth could have carried in her own womb.

I think many people still worry about whether they can love a child not 'theirs', whether it can be the same. It can...it IS.

This book is about the struggles of real people, with extraordinary faith, that doesn't always feel all that extraordinary.

Get it! I know you will feel a little closer to God when you finish.