A song for the brokenhearted

I love stories. Inspiring stories of amazing people are like fuel for my hope-hungry heart.

This year, I am sharing some of my favorite stories with my girls, as part of our homeschool.

This morning we read about Horatio Spafford.

In the mid-1800s, he was a successful lawyer in the Chicago area. He had a thriving business, a beautiful wife and five children.

At the height of his success, Horatio and his wife suffered the loss of their young son. Shortly afterwards, on October 8, 1871, the great Chicago fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.

In 1873, Horatio scheduled a trip to England with his family. There were some details to take care of before leaving, so he sent his wife and four girls ahead of him. Several days later he received a telegram from his wife: Saved alone. What shall I do?

photo from the Library of Congress

His four girls had perished when their ship was rammed by a British vessel.

Later, as he crossed the ocean to join his wife, the captain came to notify him that the area they were crossing over was the very spot where his children had drowned. It was during this voyage that Horatio Spafford penned the words to the well known hymn, It is well with my soul.

It's hard to receive encouragement or advice from someone who has not experienced many challenges in life. What do you know? Your life is practically a bed of roses!! It's another thing entirely to sit down with someone who has lost everything and hear them reassure you: even if the world crumbles around your feet, you - the core of you are are - will survive. 

Man, I find that convicting. We need that kind of faith. We need the ability to see beyond the seen to the Invisible Eternal, where God wipes our every tear away, and rights every wrong. 

We need a peace that defies circumstances, the kind of faith that Horatio demonstrated when he penned these words:

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.

1. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
2. 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!
3. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
4. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
5. And Lord, haste the day when the 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.

If you want to listen to this song, Audrey Assad has a beautiful version over here.

I also love the new version by Bethel music.

Addendum (September 22, 2016)


Five days after I shared this post, we received word that my brother-in-law had died in an accident.

He was 16.

What a gift this song is, especially in light of our recent loss.