Cinderella

I guess by now, all of us have heard about the death of Maria Sue Chapman, the youngest daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman. She was five. From what I understand, she was playing in the driveway, and her brother pulled into the driveway and didn’t see her in time. Steven has asked for prayer for the family, but particularly for his son that was at the wheel. That must be a massive amount of guilt to carry around. There has been no release as to which of Steven’s two sons was driving (Will Franklin or Caleb). It was an accident, so the name of the driver is not really news, and really not any of our business.
Steven Curtis Chapman had four daughters: Emily, Shaoey, Stevey Joy, and Maria. He had recently written a book entitled, "Cinderella: The Love of Daddy and his Princess." I haven’t read the book, but I would imagine that a man with four daughters has encountered pretty much everything imaginable that could happen between a father and a daughter (maybe even some things that are beyond imaginable). I know that he has done a song recently called, ‘Cinderella’ which is about the different stages of a daughter’s life, told from the father’s perspective, from pre-schooler to fiancée (his oldest daughter, Emily, has just recently gotten engaged). In the chorus of that song, he talks about wanting to spend time with his daughter, because, “I know something the Prince never knew.” And goes on to say, “All too soon, the clock will strike midnight, and she’ll be gone.” I suspect that he intended that line as a reference to his daughter Emily’s upcoming marriage. Who would have thought that his youngest daughter would go first, and in such a permanent way?