Well, indeed

             It is well with my soul.”  One would think Horatio G. Stafford, the author of this line that serves as title and refrain of a hymn written in 1873, was peacefully in the midst of everyday life circumstances.  Yet, just the opposite is true.  After suffering deep personal loss at the death of his only son and financial setbacks, this successful lawyer took his wife and four daughters to Europe to lift their spirits and participate in an evangelistic campaign in Great Britain.

            Before the return voyage, Mr. Stafford was detained by urgent business, so he sent his family back to Chicago, planning to follow them shortly.  Their ship set out across the Atlantic; two British vessels struck the ship, and it sank in 12 minutes.  His wife was among the few survivors, but his four daughters drowned along with 222 others.

            “It is well with my soul.” This summed up his description of the sustaining comfort God supplied to him as he crossed the Atlantic to join his wife in Wales and passed over the approximate location where the previous ship had sunk.  The first verse goes into even more detail of his actual circumstances and emotions:

            When peace like a river attendeth my way

            When sorrows like sea billows blow

            Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

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

 

              It is well with my soul?  How could this possibly be true after a father experiences such loss?  How could any “blest assurance control” in the midst of one’s soul through his unimaginable loss?  These were my questions about the title and lyrics of this old hymn until the sudden death of my husband on August 15^th, 2017.  On what he indicated would be a “short ride,” Jim suffered a massive heart attack as he was heading back home and died suddenly.

            Probably in the next week, I told a close friend that I now understood how the writer of this old hymn was able to pen such words, write such a refrain after experiencing such deep loss.  I, too, had been given the assurance he spoke of that comes from a real, living faith in Christ and His promises of eternal life for those who believe.  There was peace in knowing Jim had a saving faith, one that played itself out in so many ways each and every day. 

            “It is well with my soul.”  This doesn’t mean I am not terribly sad or that I don’t miss him so many times throughout the day.  I’ve never lived alone before, but then I am not really alone.  The God of all comfort has ministered mightily to me.  I am known by Him just as Jim was.