No One’s Laughing…

Remember when my Friday personal posts used to be funny? This year has been ROUGH y’all. I haven’t had very many funny things happen to me, instead I’ve attended more funerals this year than in the last ten years of my life combined. My husband has started traveling a lot and that’s left me pretty lonely and struggling to transition. And as if it weren’t bad enough that his job takes him away from me a lot, My husband’s job is DEPRESSING! I’ve become aware in this last year of how much excruciating pain some people endure and it disgusts me. I honestly haven’t had much of a reason to laugh and be entertaining recently. (Is it weird that I almost WANT raccoons to invade my home again?)

In my little slump, I’ve been thinking… I want to be more like Horatio Spafford. Have you heard the story of his life? I used to really like that particular episode of Adventures in Odyssey. (I’m really showing my true dorky colors with that reference.) Horatio Spafford was a wealthy lawyer and business man in Chicago. He had lots of property, four girls, a wife, and he was doing very well. He and his family were about to embark on a trip to Europe when the Great Chicago Fire happened. He decided to stay back and deal with things here while he sent his wife and daughters on ahead to their European vacation. While he dealt with the devastating loss of all of his properties burning to the ground, his daughters and wife were in a ship collision at sea, and only his wife survived. All four of his girls drowned in the icy waters of the Atlantic. As Spafford traveled to join his wife in Europe the ship’s captain came and let him know when they were near the spot where his precious daughters had perished. There on the deck of the ship he penned these profound words:

It Is Well With My Soul

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.

Refrain:
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (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.

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!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to 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.

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.

I’m absolutely floored and amazed that a man who had just been financially ruined and lost all four of his children could be filled with such gratitude in the face of adversity. Maybe you want to “be like Mike” like the old commercial said… but I want to be like Horatio. I don’t want to experience what he experienced, but I want to have that kind of faith.

Faith is a funny thing. In some ways it feels like you either have it or you don’t. But there is definitely an ebb and flow to its’ presence. Sometimes the circumstances just bring to the surface the faith that has been there all along. In times of adversity you see the true colors of a person. When those colors are brilliant (like the balloons you saw above) it’s inspiring. It’s challenging. It’s something to ponder. It’s a reminder that sometimes it’s ok that no one’s laughing. We have an eternity to laugh. For now, we’re going to fight and struggle and hope that when our true colors show, by the grace of God, they’ll be blindingly brilliant.

If you have a minute or two to watch this music video, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a thinker, but it’s absolutely fantastic. I love it.