My dear friend Janet went home to be with the Lord this past week after five months of living with terminal cancer. One of the things I always looked forward to when speaking with Janet, whether by phone or in person, was that she could hardly wait to tell me what her, “Thank you, Lord,” moment was for that day. Some days were filled with several of those moments and she was so happy to share these precious stories with everyone she met.
Her stories might be about someone she just met that knew someone else and that is exactly how she found her cancer doctor. He was known to be one of the best for her particular cancer and she was pleased that he was able to see her and counsel her and her husband about what to expect.
I never want to let go of those I love but when I see they are in pain, weak, or unable to function as they would wish, the reality of death can be a blessing if they know Jesus. It is with joy that I can say Janet is home with Jesus now. The Apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthians speaks about our desire for our Savior and heaven, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
As David said when his infant child died, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” I know that someday I will meet up with Janet again and she will greet me by telling me all that the Lord has done for her. Such comfort that is when the sorrow of missing her daily hits me.
I think often of the hymn penned by Horatio Spafford, ‘It is Well With My Soul.’ It is a beautiful tribute to how each of us living under Christ’s saving grace can handle loss. The song’s first verse is hauntingly sorrowful. “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.”
The back story of the song is that Mr. Spafford sent his wife and four young daughters on a trip to England. The family had recently lost their only son at 4 years old from scarlet fever and this trip was meant to bring some joy back into their lives. Their friend Dwight L. Moody was speaking in Great Britain and Mr. Spafford was to sail later to meet up with all of them after he finished some business at home.
As the boat was crossing the Atlantic it was struck by an iron sailing ship and 226 passengers lost their lives at sea. Mr. Spafford’s wife was found floating in the ocean and rescued but their four young daughters perished. As word reached Mr. Spafford he, of course, was devastated and hurried to England to be with his wife to seek comfort together over their great loss.
According to one account, during his voyage the captain brought Mr. Spafford to the bridge and told him that they were over the area where the ship went down and his daughters were lost at sea. It has been speculated that Mr. Spafford then returned to his cabin and penned this hymn.
If you have the opportunity to review the complete lyrics you can’t help but notice that as the hymn moves through the six verses the gradual uplifting of Mr. Spafford’s soul. He is slowly able to glimpse the world and these sorrowful events from a more eternal view with each stanza. By the last verse he is seeing with a new vision, “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.”
We Christians are not there yet but we know that heaven and Jesus await because God tells us so. If we take the time to read God’s Word we have the advantage of having, through that knowledge, an overwhelming peace when sad things touch our lives.
As I soak myself in God’s promises and the words of Scripture I can honestly say that I am happy for Janet even as I am missing her deeply and even as I am sorrowing for her husband Pete’s loss of her companionship.
I can with all confidence say that, “I will go to Janet but she will not return to me,” because God is love and truth and my Bible tells me so.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
