Heroes? Idols? Inspirational!

I had a hard time knowing how to title this post - it may be going too far to say that the Chapman family are my heroes or my idols, but for sure they have inspired me! Did any of you see the Larry King Live interview with them last week? This is a family that has gone through a horrible tragedy, yet are closer and stronger than before. Their love for each other and their faith in God just shines through them. These are the kind of Christians I want to be associated with - they are so genuine. There are so many negative portrayals of Christians in the media, and frankly it's probably because so many Christians are weird (or fake, or power hungry, or hypocritical...fill in the blank). But the Chapmans are the real deal - they are normal people that have been given an extraordinary amount of talent and an extraordinary burden to bear, and they are doing it with extraordinary grace. Steven and Marybeth must be so proud of their 3 children that were interviewed along with them - they were so mature and showed such wisdom. I love that the whole family got tattoos of Maria's name to help them in the grieving process...I love that they are planning on having a blast at Emily's wedding in October - dancing together and celebrating life and love....I love that Marybeth said that she doesn't care who is touched by this story, she just wants Maria back - that is just such a real comment that any mom can identify with (actually she said that on the Good Morning America interview) . Watching the interview of this family really made me think about the values that I want to instill in my children and the kind of bond that I want to have with them during their teenage/early adult years and beyond. I think we're going to be hearing a lot of great things about the Chapman family over the years.