"When sorrow like sea billows roll
It is well with my soul"
Were not words written during the happiest moments
Of Horatio G. Spafford's life
On the contrary
They came from a man who had suffered unimaginable personal tragedy
In 1871, Horatio and his wife, Anna
Lost their only son to Scarlet Fever
At the age of four
A year later, the real estate
He had invested so heavily in
Was wiped out by the Great Chicago Fire
Aware of the toll these disasters had taken on the family
Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters
On a holiday to England
However, a last minute business development
Delayed Horatio, but he persuaded his family
To go ahead of him, promising to join them soon
Just nine days later
Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales
It read, "Saved alone"
On the 2nd of November, 1873
The Ville du Havre collided with the Lock Earn, an English vessel
It sank in just 12 minutes
Claiming the lives of Spafford's four daughters
His wife surviving, only because her unconscious body
Was popped up by a plank that floated beneath her
Upon receiving the terrible news
Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York
To join his bereaved wife
During his voyage
As he sailed over the area
That was estimated to be where the ship was wrecked
Spafford, Horatio G. Spafford
Penned the words of this great hymn
Words that show that his worship
Does not depend solely upon how he feels
"Whatever my lot", he says
"Come rain or shine, pleasure or pain
Success or failure, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul"
Amen