1. 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.

* Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

2. 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.

3. 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!

4. 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.

5. 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!

6. 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.

Ever have one of those hymns that you've sung all your life and it still continues to speak to you today? This is one of those hymns. I've known it as far back as I can remember singing it in the Baptist church we went to as a family waaaaaay back.

Last week I picked up a young guy with Downs Syndrome who goes to College every day. He's friendly and usually tells me really really bad jokes on the ride to or from his school. Just after I picked him up I had to pick up another lady from a Senior's residence. When she got on the bus she recognized him and said, "oh there's our singer, Driver have you ever heard this young man sing?" I said I hadn't and that previously he had only told me jokes. She encouraged him to sing telling me he could put more feeling into a song than anyone she knew so I told him to go for it.

And go for it he did. He pulled out all the stops. He had a book with him and this was the song he picked. All the verses to "It Is Well With My Soul". He poured his heart and soul into it. He didn't sing on key but he sang all the words with every fibre of his being and you know what? He blessed me right down to my socks.

Last year when we went on retreat we walked a labyrinth for the first time. If you haven't tried it, find one. It's a spiritual experience. I walked and talked to God at the same time and asked Him for a word for me for what I was going through at that time with a family issue. I was being challenged and stretched and not sure that I would make it through to the other side without falling apart. And the word God gave me was "It is well with your soul" and I knew then that things would be ok. And they are.

I find so often today that church music is just all flashing lights and a big show and speaking only for myself, I don't get a thing out of it. I miss the days of singing the songs that mean something. I've often asked "what on earth are they going to sing to us in our nursing homes when this is what they're learning now?" But that's a whole other subject.

So for today, It Is Well With My Soul.