I think the
most common question asked by British people is How are you?
And it is one of the hardest questions for me to answer. People are
expecting you to say 'good thanks' or similar, yet how can I say I am good when
I am in so much pain?
My favourite hymn is 'It is Well' written by
Horatio Spafford. The words are amazing:
When peace,
like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we
wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And, Lord, haste the day when my 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.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And, Lord, haste the day when my 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.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul
I love the
lyrics they are just beautiful! Spafford wrote this hymn through massive
trauma and grief in his life - his only son died aged just 4. He then had
his whole estate ruined in a fire. To try and get over all the trauma he
decided that the rest of his family needed a break. On their way to
England for a holiday the ship his family were on was ship wrecked and
Spafford's 4 daughters were killed. When he found out that his daughter's
had all been killed, he wrote this hymn.
Thinking
back to the question How are you? I find great comfort in this hymn. I
know that when people ask me how I am, however bad my week has been, however
much pain I am in, however rubbish I am feeling I can still answer with the
response "I am well, thank you." Because however big my pain
and problems feel I know that God is so much bigger than it all and I can still
be well.
