May the sun shine again amidst gloom of mall attack

By Ababu Namwamba

Horatio G. Spafford could well be described as a latter-day Job. Born on October 20, 1828 in Lansingburgh, New York, Horatio had it all by the late 1860s. A Presbyterian Church elder and devout Christian, he was wealthy with a thriving legal practice.

Horatio lived with his wife Anna in a northside suburb of Chicago with their five children – Annie, Maggie, Bessie, Tanetta and Horatio Jr. Active in the reform and abolitionist movements, the Spaffords led a truly charmed life, with absolutely everything going their way.

Then the hailstorm broke loose. In 1870, Horatio and Anna lost their four-year-old son, Horatio Jr. to scarlet fever. Barely a year later, on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed most of Chicago, and most of Spafford’s real estate investment went up in smoke. 250 people died and 90,000 left homeless. The Spaffords did not despair. Their home had been spared and they had their family. God had been good. The fire was a great American tragedy; the Spaffords used it to show the love of Christ to those in need.

In 1873, Anna’s health was failing. Horatio scheduled a boat trip to Europe to give his wife and daughters a much-needed vacation and time to recover from their loss. He also wished to join longtime friends Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England.

They would sail on the French steamer Ville du Havre. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business. On November 22, 1873 Ville du Havre was struck by a British iron sailing ship, the Lockhearn, sinking within twelve minutes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. An American cargo vessel, the Trimountain, arrived in time to save the survivors...only 81 of 307.

Unconscious, Anna was rescued and taken to Cardiff, Wales, where she telegraphed her husband. Her cable was brief and heartbreaking, “Saved alone. What shall I do...” All their four daughters had perished. With a heavy heart, Spafford set sail to his grieving Anna.

The captain of the ship called Horatio to the bridge and informed him that “a careful reckoning has been made and I believe we are now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.”

That night, alone in his cabin, Horatio G. Spafford penned those now famous words, “When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well with my soul...” Composer Philip Bliss was so impressed with Spafford’s life and the words of his hymn that he composed a beautiful piece of music to accompany the lyrics. “It Is Well With My Soul”.

Horatio’s faith in God never faltered. He later wrote to Anna’s half-sister, “On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs.” Following their reunion in Europe, Horatio and Anna returned to Chicago to rebuild their lives. God blessed them with three children, Horatio, Bertha and Grace. Tragically, when Horatio reached the age of four just as his brother, he died from scarlet fever!

After this loss, the Spaffords left America and settled in Jerusalem, where they started a work which later became known as the “American Colony”. They served the needy, cared for the sick and took in homeless children.

Their daughter Bertha Spafford-Vester, would later write in her book “Our Jerusalem”: “In Chicago, Father searched his life for explanation. Until now, it had flowed gently as a river. Spiritual peace and worldly security had sustained his early years, his family life and his home...All around him people were asking the unvoiced question; ‘What guilt had brought this sweeping tragedy to Anna and Horatio Spafford?’.... Father became convinced that God was kind and that he would see his children again in heaven.

This thought calmed his heart.... To Father, this was a passing through the “valley of the shadow of death,” but his faith came through triumphant and strong. On the high seas, near the place where his children perished, he wrote the hymn that was to give comfort to so many.”

For more than a century, the tragic story of one man has given hope to thousands who have lifted their voices to sing, It Is Well With My Soul. May the sun shine again amidst the gloom of Westgate.