After Maria’s memorial service, . . . we knew we had to return home and face one of our scariest scenarios. In short, it was time to begin our “new normal”— whatever that was. But it was still awful.
As we approached our house, the morning was gray. We turned into our neighborhood. Then, as our tires hit gravel on the unpaved surface of our cul-de-sac, the skies opened up and started pouring rain . . . as if Jesus was weeping with us while we came back to this place.
We drove up our driveway. There was a baby magnolia tree near the girls’ playground. We never paid much attention to it, and it had never bloomed before. But as we rounded the corner, we saw that little tree, so near to the place where Maria’s earthly life had ended, and there was a huge, fragrant, blooming flower on it. Just one.
We could almost hear her laughing from heaven, “SEE?”
* * *
Yes, our home was the site where Maria was accidentally hit by a car and left this earth… but even though that all-consuming, terrible thing happened here, our home was also a place of powerful, happy memories. This was the place where God had met us time and time again; He had not been looking the other way on May 21.
Book details and sample chapters
UK paperback edition just published!
Price: £7.99
ISBN: 9780800719920
Available via all good bookshops, or on-line.
Mary Beth's blog
Information on 'Show Hope', the charity established by the Chapmans.
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