Out Our Way: 'It Is Well with My Soul'

Out our way, we know that "There ain't a horse that can't be rode, and there ain't a cowboy that can't be throwed."

I have ridden with and known a number of folk working livestock and have yet to meet one who hasn't been tossed, stomped, bitten or gored along the way. It is just a reality we all face and accept. Some of us are lucky - I, for example, only have a bad back from hitting the rocks and hard ground a few many times - but others fare far worse. 

As some of you know, my pard, Charlie ended his days working cows when his horse was spooked by a friend's dog, reared up, lost its balance and fell over atop Charlie. Charlie ended up in a wheelchair and with his COPD, eventually passed away. Yet, Charlie never quit. He never gave up. He continued to be Charlie and, when he died, the Methodist Church was packed with friends, colleagues and fellow cowhands who testified to Charlie's strength - even in the depths of his despair - and his faith that God was with him.

You meet some folks with that depth of soul from time to time, and it is not surprising to me to discover how that faith went on to strengthen and inspire others. From the darkest pits of sorrow, a light continued to burn.

One such light was a Chicago lawyer and real estate tycoon named Horatio Spatford You may have never heard of him, but chances are you have heard and even sung the hymn he wrote, "It Is Well with My Soul."

It begins stating:

"When peace like a river attendeth my ways

"When sorrows like sea billows roll

"Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

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

Oh - a rich lawyer with lakefront property singing how everything is great ... big deal!

Ah, but is a big deal - when you know the story.

Horatio and his beloved wife had five children. The youngest - a son - died of scarlet fever at age 4. Shortly thereafter, the great Chicago fire consumed all of his real estate investments. But there was more.

The famous evangelist D.L. Moody, a close friend, was holding a crusade in England and invited Horatio and his remaining family to come join him. At the last minute, Horatio found he had to handle one of his client's legal issues and so sent his wife and four remaining children on to England ahead of him. Six days later he received a telegram from England from his wife. The ship they had taken collided with another ship and sank - and while the wife survived, none of the children did.

Horatio booked the next ship he could to get to England and his bereaved wife, and asked the captain to tell him when they approached the area where the ship sank. Now according to a daughter who was born years after these tragedies, it was when the ship came to the location, Horatio was inspired to write the poem "It Is Well with My Soul."

No wonder it is a favorite hymn of so many - and so often included in funeral services - for once you know the story, the words carry healing. There is such a thing as Divine inspiration and the scriptures are not the only place it is to be found.

Charlie gave me his hat and range coat - both of which I wore to his funeral instead of my clerical collar and robes - but he also showed me a depth of faith and hope that I hope to emulate. I cannot fill his boots, but I can walk in his footsteps.

I, of course, never met Horatio Spatford, but I know his words and his faith and his hymn deeply touches my soul. But I did know Charlie who lived the words of the hymn despite his pain and tragedy. I may have the ordination and degrees, but both the lawyer Horatio and the cowboy Charlie taught me the faith.

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Brother John

--

The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].