Now, Christmas is,
of course, a time for celebrating new birth. It's a time for family-- forgiving-- and in
my house, anyway, we always raise a toast
to absent friends-- to those we have lost. And we share stories about
them, bringing them back to life in our memory. And the account I
want to share with you this Christmas season
is just such a story. It's about a family who in
the darkest moments of life found the hope and peace we
associate with this season-- the true spirit of Christmas-- how it transformed them and
also has blessed this world. [MUSIC - "O LITTLE TOWN OF
BETHLEHEM"] (SINGING) O little
town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless
sleep, the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets
shineth the everlasting Light. The hopes and fears of all the
years are met in thee tonight. HOST: In mid-November 1873,
an ocean liner, the Ville du Havre, set sail from New
York bound for France with 313 passengers on board. One can imagine their
festive Atlantic crossing with ribbons of
red, swags of evergreen, and Christmas carols wafting
through a dining room sparkling with candlelight. In a few days, they would
make landfall in Europe-- just in time for
Christmas in Paris. Anna Spafford and
her four little girls were among the
delighted passengers. They had come from Chicago. Annie-- aged 11, Margaret Lee-- 9, Bessie-- 5, and
little Tanetta, age 2. Their father, Horatio, had
intended to sail with them but was detained on business. Not to worry, he assured
his wife and children-- he would book his
passage in a few days, and soon they would
be reunited in Paris-- the city of light-- celebrating the
season of goodwill. And goodwill is
what they needed. Two years earlier,
the Great Chicago Fire had all but destroyed
Horatio's business interests. So this journey was intended to
restore hope and bring healing into their lives. Once on board the ship, on the
evening of November the 22nd, Anna and her girls knelt
down, said their prayers, and fell asleep, dreaming of the
yuletide festivities to come. [music playing] But at about 2 o'clock
in the morning, they were suddenly jolted
awake in their births. Despite a clear, starry
sky, the Ville du Havre had inexplicably
collided with the Loch Earn, an iron-hulled
Scottish clipper. Lifeboats quickly
filled with people. Many passengers leapt
into the icy waters. Anna tried desperately to
keep her children together, but the two eldest became
separated in the confusion. [music playing] Just twelve minutes
after the impact, a wave washed over the deck,
and Anna was drawn under-- together with her two
youngest daughters. She held on to
five-year-old Bessie until her strength gave out. Her last memory was of
two-year-old Tanetta in her lace nightgown, torn
from her grasp-- getting smaller and
smaller until she, too, finally disappeared. [music playing] Later, the crew of
the Loch Earn and found Anna unconscious,
floating on a wooden plank. [music playing] When the ship docked
in Wales, Anna sent a telegram to her husband. It read, "Saved alone,
what shall I do?" [music playing] Horatio immediately
sailed from New York. He wrote to a friend,
"There is just one thing in these days that has
become magnificently clear-- I must not lose faith." [music playing] Four days into his voyage,
on a Thursday evening, the captain summoned Mr.
Stafford to the foredeck. By the crew's calculations,
they were nearing the very place where Anna's ship had gone
down, taking with ti their four daughters-- now resting some
three miles below. But Horatio refused
to look down. "I did not think of
our dear ones there," he later recounted. Instead, he gazed out
across the rolling waves and up into moonlit sky. There and then, he began to
formulate a simple expression of his faith-- a verse that would
become a hymn. [music playing] 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. [music playing] Only a few weeks earlier, in
the same place on the open sea, Anna had experienced
a similar awakening. After her rescue, when she
had regained consciousness, she was overcome with
despair and simply wanted to throw herself
back into the ocean. What was life worth now? What could it ever be
without her children? But then it was as
if she heard a voice in her mind and her heart. You are spared for
a purpose, Anna. You have a work to do. [MUSIC - "IT IS WELL WITH MY
SOUL"] (SINGING) 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. Once they had
returned to Chicago, Horatio sought the support and
prayers of his congregation to help him face the dire
financial straits in which he found himself. Anna gave birth to a
boy and then a girl. But sorrow upon sorrow--
that son, Horacio Jr, succumbed to scarlet
fever at the age of three. Then a year later,
another daughter was born. Only two of their seven
children lived to maturity, but the Spaffords
never yielded hope. [MUSIC - "IT IS WELL WITH MY
SOUL"] (SINGING) Though Satan should
buffet, though trials should come, let this blest
assurance control, that Christ has regarded
my helpless estate, and has shed His own
blood for my soul. Through that harrowing
Christmas season of 1873, the Spaffords became
even more certain that God loves
all His children-- whoever they are and whatever
tribulations they may suffer. In 1881, the family
moved to Jerusalem and established there an
American colony not far from the little
town of Bethlehem we celebrate at Christmas. Although deeply
religious, their purpose was not to proselytize,
but to serve people of all backgrounds-- relieving the effects of
poverty, disease, and strife wherever it was found. Seven years later,
Horatio himself died. Grieving once
again, Anna Spafford had every reason to give
up, but she did not. Every life has contradictions
and imperfections, and hers was no exception. But when it mattered most-- in her most profound spiritual
crisis, when all seemed lost-- Anna found the strength to move
forward and to turn outward-- to continue the work she
and her husband had begun. And the seed of service,
which they had planted, bore sweet fruit indeed. [music playing] In time, their daughter
Bertha expanded the Spaffords' humanitarian work,
with the simple intent of rescuing those who had
experienced the shipwrecks of life, as they had. During World War
I, she led the way in organizing soup
kitchens for refugees. She also oversaw hospitals
for wounded soldiers on all sides of the conflict. One Christmas Eve, on
her way to Bethlehem, Bertha met a Bedouin
man, his ailing wife, and their newborn son traveling
to Jerusalem by donkey. Later Bertha wrote, "Here stood
before me a rustic Madonna and babe, and similar
to Mary's plight, there was no place
for them to stay." [music playing] By the next morning,
the mother had died, and Bertha was asked to
take care of the child. She agreed, she named
the little boy Noel. And within the
week, she had taken in two more orphan babies. And so began the Spafford
family's most enduring charitable work-- a hospital for children. She explained, "We
make no distinction in nationality or creed,
the only requirement being that people
absolutely need our help." And some of the
Spaffords' charitable work continues to this day,
in the children's center that bears the family name. [MUSIC - "IT IS WELL WITH MY
SOUL"] (SINGING) 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. For nearly 150 years,
millions have sung and have been lifted
by Horatio's hymn. But most have not been aware of
the circumstances in which it was written. But they have been strengthened
by its universal message. Horatio's words echo with
the story of Christmas-- a child was born in Bethlehem
bringing peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Because of him-- and
through his example-- the human spirit can
rise above tragedy. Whenever-- however-- we suffer
our own night of sorrow, God's love does shine
in the darkness. Hope can heal the wounded
soul, and the Christmas work of giving-- of loving-- serving-- and of rescuing is ours if
we choose to make it so. And as we do, we join
with Saints and angels to rejoice and sing. [music playing] It is well. It is well with my soul. [MUSIC - "IT IS WELL WITH MY
SOUL"] (SINGING) 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. It is well-- it is well-- with my soul-- with my soul. It is well, it is
well, with my soul. It is well-- it is well-- with my soul-- with my soul. It is well, it is
well, with my soul. With my soul. With my soul.
