For me, it was sort of a tradition at homecoming, and was something to look forward to. It was part of being back at Bethabara Methodist Church, my home church, during the worship service at homecoming. Tony Peacock would have the children’s message. All the little kids would gather up front to hear Tony share a story, usually something about his childhood and our church. Tony is a master storyteller in the Andy Griffith tradition, and, to be honest, we adults enjoy his stories just as much as the kids.
I’ve not been back to homecoming for a couple of years, and was expecting the children’s message. But this year it was different. When it was time for Tony to speak, he didn’t go down front with the kids, but went behind the podium at the pulpit. His prepared statement was not a story of growing up, but of a battle he has been fighting.
Tony told how he had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and has gone through treatment. He shared how he had “rung the bell” at the end of the treatments for the cancer, but that there were still concerns for the present and down the road.
Tony shared that during that time he had contacted Gwen Lee. Gwen and Tony grew up together as members at Bethabara. Gwen had fought her own battle with cancer several years ago. Tony told of the encouragement Gwen gave him, and that she had even knitted him a Carolina blue and white shawl. (Tony went to UNC.) Tony said it must have been hard for Gwen to do since she is a die-hard N.C. State fan.
After Tony finished speaking, Gwen then sang a song that was more than appropriate. The song was “It Is Well with My Soul.” It’s a song that I’ve shared before about its background. Here it is:
Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago in the mid-1800s. On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire swept through the city. Horatio was a prominent lawyer in Chicago, and had invested heavily in real estate and the fire nearly wiped out everything he owned. Two years later in 1873, Spafford decided that he and his family should take a vacation in England and to hear his friend and famed evangelist D. L. Moody preach.
He was delayed by business, but sent his wife, Anna, and their four daughters ahead. On Nov. 22, 1873, the ship they were sailing was struck by another vessel and 226 people lost their lives, including all four of Spafford’s daughters. Horatio’s wife, Anna, who survived, telegraphed her husband back in the United States to tell him of the terrible loss of the four daughters, whose ages ranged from 2 to 11 years old. It was on that long, lonely voyage to England to meet his wife that Horatio Spafford penned the words to “It Is Well with My Soul.” Spafford’s ship actually sailed over the same location where his daughters died.
I wonder if the seas were rough and the skies threatening when he wrote,
“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.”
How can anything be “well with your soul” after experiencing such tragedy? It’s hard for me to fathom, but the key is found in the first line of the song, the word “peace.” Peace is not the absence of strife. Peace is not the lack of hurt or pain. Peace is not “being happy,” because happiness is based on the particular situation you are in and is, well, situational. Peace is not a feeling, although there may be feelings and emotions involved.
Then, what is peace? True peace is the peace that comes only from God. It is hard to understand and describe. As a matter of fact, Philippians 4:7 in the Bible states that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Peace may be hard to describe or define, but I’m pretty sure I saw examples of it back at Bethabara Methodist Church a couple of weeks ago. And that made homecoming this year special.