I heard an old hymn rearranged in a new way recently, and it deeply touched me. The words so powerful, so amazing, impacted me in a new way. The song had been introduced with the harrowing story of the songwriter, Horatio Spafford, and how against all the odds he was able to write such amazing words. His children dead, his finances in ruin, separated by a long ocean journey from his grieving wife, he faced much more than most of us will ever face, and yet he was able to pen the words “It is well with my soul.”
The harrowing but faith filled story of Horatio Spafford can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul
I really sensed God minister to me as I sang the words of this old hymn; see the words at the end of this blog post. I felt Him healing something in me, something that needed to be mended, to be dealt with, to be redeemed. Parenting a child with additional needs is hard; it is often full of joy too, but there are days when hope seems a long way away. Days when we just don’t know what today will bring, let alone any future beyond that. Days when, like Horatio Spafford, everything seems to have been torn away or lies in ruins.
I heard this old hymn around the time of James’ 16th birthday in June, an important milestone for most teenagers, although for James and for us, although we marked the day and celebrated it with and for him, it seemed a hollow celebration. James had had a very tough year, during which he had been diagnosed with epilepsy to add to the autism and learning disability diagnoses he has always had. He had developed an anxiety issue around going out of the house, so hadn’t been at school since the previous July, or out of the house at all (except a couple of steps) since the previous December. His limited development had regressed over the year. Another birthday arriving just seemed like another confirmation of the struggles James was facing, and that we had faced with him together. Struggles that can sometimes weigh ever so heavily.
Healing Balm
As I heard Spafford’s story and started to sing the words of his hymn, there was a lot weighing on my soul. But as I joined in singing those amazing, affirming words with the other wonderful saints in the room, something happened in me. The words were like a balm to my soul, they broke through the pain and the worry and showed me afresh the love that Jesus has for me, for James, for each of us. Whatever may come, whatever the future might hold, his love remains with us.
Source: Special Needs Parenting- Key Ministry
