It is Well with My Soul,

Two days before Madie's birthday when she would have turned 25, I was asked if I would be willing to direct the Stake Conference Choir in December.  I was given a CD with the music that was going to be presented for approval, to listen to, to make sure I was willing to direct the songs.  

The following day was our bi-annual Stake Conference, and I was singing in the choir with about 60 other individuals.  It was a spirit-filled meeting and we closed with the choir singing a beautiful arrangement of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." This hymn has personal applications for me with Madie so it was a very sweet way to end the Stake Conference, and my eyes leaked more than a little.

That afternoon I sat outside contemplating Madie's birthday that was hours away and listened over and over to the CD with the 6 hymns that were selected. I found it very easy to sing along with the chorus of "It is Well With My Soul", as tears now really flowed freely.  

I reflected on the healing that had taken place since her birthday a year earlier. I felt immensely humbled and grateful.

The words to the chorus kept floating through my brain the rest of the evening and I was grateful for each of the songs I had listened to repeatedly that afternoon, a balm for my soul.  

Monday on Madie's Birthday, a friend reached out and asked me to go to lunch with her.  She wanted to stop at Home Goods on the way home, and I thought, "I would love to find myself something as a remembrance of today" which is something I have done several times on her birthday over the past seven birthdays without her.   

I came across a plaque in the clearance section that was kind of beat up.  They didn't have another one that wasn't marred, but I decided I could maybe freshen it up with a bit of paint and if not, it could represent the beatings our souls often take.  It seemed perfect for this year.  

 I then did some digging and found out the story behind this Hymn. It is actually as inspiring as the song itself. 

Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were prominent people in 1860’s Chicago. As well as being a lawyer and businessman, the Spaffords were also supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher.

In 1870 things started to go wrong. The Spaffords’ only son died of scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, the Chicago Fire destroyed all their real estate holdings on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England to get away from their troubles and to help D.L. Moody on his evangelistic tour of Britain. The Spaffords traveled to New York in November of 1873 to catch a French steamer to cross the Atlantic. At the last minute, a business development forced Horatio to stay behind. He saw his family onto the ship and made plans to catch up with them later.

On November 2nd, 1873, the ‘Ville de Havre’, the ship carrying the Spaffords, had collided with ‘The Lochearn’, an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people among them were his daughters, Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta. Only his wife, Anna, was spared. She sent a telegram to her husband which read, in part, “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. The captain of the ship had called Horatio to the bridge and said, “A careful reckoning has been made and I believe we are now passing the place where the ‘de Havre’ was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.” Horatio then returned to his cabin, buffed by the seas and his grief, and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

Sometimes our day looks pretty tough but through God, we can say, “It is well with my soul.” Psalm 46 tells us that God is our refuge and strength and that he is present in our sorrows. Romans 8:28 says, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Even Anna Spafford said in the midst of her despair she heard a voice say, “You were spared for a purpose.” We don’t always see the big picture. But God is there for us in it all.

As I walk this healing journey from losing Madeline, there are good days and there are bad days, mostly good now. I'm learning to allow whatever the experience is of any given day to just be without the judgment and bullying that occurred in the past. I need to focus on the joy and good things. When I fall, and I do, I know I can rise strong again.  Looking for the good that God allows to happen even in trying circumstances.

“It Is Well With My Soul” is not only an anchor for my spiritual walk but it even helps me with the buffers I have used since Madeline passed away. Songs are powerful reminders and anchors for my journey. They evoke emotion and move me to action. Do you have a song that helps you when you are weak?  I have a full arsenal of music that helps me rise again and again.

Listen below to the arrangement of "It is Well With My Soul"

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cc4pGqiixU

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
by Horatio Spafford

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

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!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

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