"It is Well..."

It is Well with My Soul...

Horatio Spafford was a 43 year old lawyer. He lived in a north side suburb of Chicago, with his wife Anna and his five children. In 1871 his only son died. A few months later, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 consumed Spafford's real estate investments. He lost his entire life savings.
Two years later, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation to Europe. However, Spafford was delayed by last minute business. He sent his wife and four daughters on the S.S. Ville Du Havre as scheduled, promising to follow in a few days. On November 22, 1873 the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, and it sank in twelve minutes. 226 people were killed. When the survivors of the shipwreck landed in Europe, Anna Spafford cabled her husband, "Saved alone. What shall I do?" Spafford immediately left Chicago to bring his wife home.
In the midst of his sorrow, while sailing near the place of his daughters' death, he wrote the words to the hymn..."It is well with my soul."
In Spite of their tragedy, in 1881 the Spaffords moved to Jerusalem to meet the needs of the people. Through their service the Spaffords were able to share Christ with the local Muslim and Jewish communities.
When was the last time we stopped and thanked God for all we have? Today was a very odd day for me. I began my day visiting with a good friend who has been given a few months to live and ended the day with several teenagers singing about being a "generation that seeks God first..." God has plans for all of us, but sometimes I wish the path was a little more obvious...Let's all pray this week that God will reveal something to us that's brand new and makes us excited about who He is all over again! God Bless...

Tony