It is well

Today, my heart mourns as we lay to rest a precious teacher, mother, grandmother and friend, Mrs. Patsy. Yet I rejoice because she has gone home to be with the Lord.

This week and the following five weeks, I will run her computer lab. It is very difficult to sit in her room, but at the same time witness all the lives she has touched. Mrs. Patsy worked 27 years at this school. What a blessing she has been too so many faculty and students!

While we mourn, she is rejoicing in the presence of the Lord. And the song, "It is Well With My Soul," seems to be appropriate when you face a loss like this one.

You may not be familiar with this song. Some of the words may be hard to understand. But this song was written after great tragedy and loss.

What makes this song hit home is the story behind it. The article below is from http://christianmusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/hymn_it_is_well_with_my_soul


Text Author and Hymn-Writer Horatio G. Spafford
Spafford was born on October 20, 1828 in North Troy, New York. He was a successful lawyer in Chicago who maintained a keen interest in Christian activities, deeply spiritual and devoted to the scriptures.

Chicago Fire and a Son's Loss
Sometime in 1871, a fire in Chicago heavily devastated the city, and months before that , Spafford had invested hugely in real estate by the shore of Lake Michigan. The disaster greatly wiped out his holdings. Before the fire, Spafford also experienced the loss of his son.

Calm Before Spafford's Worst Life Storm
Two years after the fire, Horatio Spafford planned a trip to Europe for him and his family. He wanted a rest for his wife and four daughters, and also to assist Moody and Sankey in one of their evangelistic campaigns in Great Britain. He was not meant to travel with his family. The day in November they were due to depart, Spafford had a last minute business transaction and had to stay behind in Chicago. Nevertheless, he still sent his wife and four daughters to travel as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Havre, expecting to follow in a few days. On November 22, the ship laden with his wife and daughters was struck by the Lockhearn, an English vessel, and sank in few minutes.

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After that tragedy is when he wrote the song. Read the words carefully.


When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control,
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and hath shed his own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)

And, Lord, haste the day when 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.
(Refrain)


Did you understand it? This man had lost everything. he was even suppose to be on the boat but his life was spared. But somehow as he went out to the ocean at the spot where his family had died, he found God.

I do not know what tragedy is in your life. You, like me, may be mourning the loss of someone close to you. Maybe you are in a battle for your own life. Maybe you feel you lost everything. Maybe all hope is gone. May you, like Horatio, feel God's presence and comfort in your life today.

Listen to the words and picture a man out at sea mourning the loss of his family. Listen to it again and claim those truths for your own life.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOKQu4-ZVlk