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Bell Churchchurch Hymn Stories: It Is Well BellBell ChurchChurch Hymn Stories: It Is Well www.BellChurch.org It is Well With My Soul In Chicago, 250 people died and 90,000 were left homeless as a result of the fire in 1871. And, even though their investments were lost, Anna and her husband, Horatio Spafford, did not despair. Their home had been spared and they had their family. They maintained this outlook on life even though, one year earlier, their four year old son, Horatio, Jr. had died of scarlet fever. Their finances were mostly depleted, and yet Anna and Horatio used what resources they had left to feed the hungry, help the homeless, care for the sick and injured and comfort their grief stricken neighbors. The Spaffords used the Great Chicago Fire to show the love of Jesus to those in need. In 1873 Anna’s health was failing and she was hoping to put the tragic loss of their son and the memory of the fire behind her. To benefit Anna's health, the Spaffords planned a trip to Europe. They would sail on the French steamer Ville du Havre to Europe with their four daughters. Horatio Spafford not only wanted to visit Europe but he wanted to assist Evangelists Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey in a revival they were conducting in England. The Spaffords planned to leave in November on their voyage to Europe. The day they were to sail for Europe Horatio had a business emergency and could not leave. Not wanting to disappoint Anna and their daughters he sent them on ahead and planned to follow on another ship in a few days. On November 22, 1873, in the middle of the Atlantic, the steamer was struck by a British iron sailing ship, the Lockhearn. The Ville du Havre, with Anna Spafford and her daughters aboard, sank within twelve minutes. Only 81 of the 307 passengers and crew members survived. Anna Spafford later spoke of being sucked violently downward. Baby Tanetta was torn from her arms by a collision with some heavy debris, with a blow so violent that Anna's arm was severely bruised. She flailed at the water trying to catch her baby. Anna caught Tanetta's gown for just a moment before another smashing blow tore the little girl out of her arms forever. Reaching out again, all she could find was a man's leg in corduroy trousers. Anna, barely conscious, was then swirled about in a whirlpool before surfacing near the Lockhearn. She instinctively clung on to a small plank and the next thing she recalled was the splash of an oar as she lay at the bottom of a small boat. Bruised and sick, her long hair was matted with salt and her dressing gown shredded. But the pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain in her heart as she realized that her four daughters had been lost in the disaster. Anna was taken to Cardiff, Wales where she telegraphed her husband. Anna's cable read: "Saved alone. What shall I do..." In her grief and despair, Anna heard a soft voice speaking to her and saying "You were saved for a purpose!" As soon as he received Anna's telegram, Horatio left Chicago to bring his wife home. Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean the captain of the ship called Horatio to the bridge. He informed Horatio 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 It Is Well. Bell Church % 17 Mayrand Road, Post Office Box 36, Leicester, NC, 28748 % www.BellChurch.org.
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