It is Well

” I lift my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121)

This is the verse that Norma took before God when she raised her arms to the heavens in front of the Grand Teton Mountains not long after receiving the devastating cancer diagnosis that cut her beautiful life short. It is the verse that gave her comfort, strength and peace. The horrible disease, without remorse or respect for her or her loved one’s plans for their lives, invaded her body and took her life from us. But it could not touch the spirit or soul she had surrendered to God.

Her strong faith in God is evident in her favorite hymn “It is Well with My Soul”

”Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well with my soul”

On one of our days together, she had told me how the hymn gave her peace. After several hard weeks in the hospital, Len, who had spent every day with her there, called me at work to let me know she had passed. I went to my car to be alone and cry.

I don’t believe in coincidences, so when I turned the key in the ignition, and heard Family Life radio just queuing the song “It is Well with my Soul”, I knew it was God and Norma’s way of assurance that she was at peace with Him.

There is not a one of us that escapes the struggles and hardships of this life. We all have our worst, hardest days. Seemingly endless, desperate, lonely times. We battle grief and loss, the demons of addictions, or maybe the emotions of worthlessness brought on from betrayal. We all face the reality and cruelty that this world can hold.

We can scream and turn from God because of the unfairness. He has big enough shoulders to handle all of our anger and still love us unconditionally, despite the conditions we put on our love for Him.

Or, we can be like Norma and put our trust in God and know that “Whatever our lot, it is well with my soul”.

That was to be the last paragraph of my story, but I feel compelled to let you know that as I was writing this today, on this rainy sixth anniversary of Norma’s passing, my Pandora’s Relaxation radio station randomly played “It is Well”

Coincidence? I don’t think so.