♪♫ It is well with my soul ♪♫

There is a hymn that I absolutely adore. The lyrics, in and of themselves, are phenomenal, but when you know what inspired the lyricist, this particular piece speaks volumes. Many times in life when I feel I have been hit by a barrage of suffering and pain, I have thought of this hymn. Music speaks to me, sometimes when nothing else can. These are the words that I have leaned on, time and time again:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot,

Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well,
With my soul.


And Lord haste the day that my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, 
And the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well,
With my soul.


Written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford, the hymn was penned as Mr Spafford traveled across the Atlantic to join his wife who had been the sole survivor of a shipwreck of the ocean liner his family had traveled on just weeks before. He lost four daughters to the ocean waters that day. Unfortunately it was not the only tragedy he had suffered in life. He had lost his only son to scarlet fever and every real estate holding he had was destroyed in the Chicago fire. Ironically, the trip was to be a distraction for all the tragedy the family had suffered. Most, faced with such pain, would give up, rail at the heavens, but instead, Spafford writes the most beautiful hymn.

How can this be? The words do not say it is well with me. They say it is well with my soul. Our soul is not of this world. Our soul, I believe, will one day be free of all pain and suffering. Even with the magnitude of earthly suffering that Spafford endured, he knew one day, all the pain would be gone, washed away. His soul would be free. "And Lord haste the day that my faith shall be sight" Translation: My head does not understand this, but my faith tells me that one day all will be well. What AMAZING faith!!!
Why, today, am I writing about this? Because I know someone personally who had this kind of amazing faith that all is in God's hands, and who better to trust? Last week a friend of mine lost her 5 month old son. He was born prematurely with a heart defect that would require a transplant, and he spent most of his time on this earth fighting. His mother journaled every step of the way about his journey, and every entry talked about the fact that she knew all of this was in God's hands, and the awesome trust she had in Him. Even in her grief as she posted when she lost him last week, she spoke of the ending of his suffering and that his heart was now perfect. What a wonderful example and testament to others who are grieving, suffering, and at the end of their rope. I pray that all will continue to be well with your soul, and hope that all who read this today know that nothing is impossible with God.