by Heather Plett | Jul 21, 2005 | Uncategorized
Across the parking lot from our office is a beautiful old church. I’ve walked by it lots of times, but never stepped inside. They open their doors at lunch time, and I’ve often been tempted to wander in, but always had some other destination or deadline.
Today, when I wandered past, I couldn’t resist going inside. They have instrumental music piped outside, and it was the music that drew me in. They were playing “It is well with my soul” and if you knew the history of that song and its connection to my family, you’d understand why I was drawn inside.
My dad loved hymns. Not that he liked ALL hymns – he was rather discriminate in his tastes – he loved hymns with depth and meaning and some thought put into the words. He loved hymns that came from some place of deep understanding on the part of the songwriter. He loved history and he loved stories. This particular hymn has all the right elements – good writing, depth of meaning, and a story behind it.
Sitting there in that magnificent church, gazing at the stained glass windows and fine architecture, and listening to that hymn, felt like a holy moment. It felt like Dad was sitting there right beside me, his head bent slightly over the hymnal.
We sang that song at Dad’s funeral two years ago. As we sang – the tears rolling down our cheeks – my family stood to our feet, united by our love for Dad and our belief that he would want us to say “It is well with my soul,” even in the midst of our tragedy.
Here’s the story behind the song…
In 1871, tragedy struck Chicago as fire ravaged the city. When it was all over, 300 people were dead and 100,000 were homeless. Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get back on their feet. A lawyer who had invested much of his money into the downtown Chicago real estate, he’d lost a great deal to the fire. And his one son (he had four daughters) had died about the same time. Still, for two years Spafford–who was a friend of evangelist Dwight Moody–assisted the homeless, impoverished, and grief-stricken ruined by the fire.
After about two years of such work, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation. They were to go to England to join Moody and Ira Sankey on one of their evangelistic crusades, then travel in Europe. Horatio Spafford was delayed by some business, but sent his family on ahead. He would catch up to them on the other side of the Atlantic.
Their ship, the Ville de Havre, never made it. Off Newfoundland, it collided with an English sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and sank within 20 minutes. Though Horatio’s wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of floating wreckage (one of only 47 survivors among hundreds), their four daughters–Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie–were killed. Horatio received a horrible telegram from his wife, only two words long: “saved alone.”
Spafford boarded the next available ship to be near his grieving wife, and the two finally met up with Dwight Moody. “It is well,” Spafford told him quietly. “The will of God be done.”
Though reports vary as to when he did so, Spafford was led during those days of surely overwhelming grief to pen the words to one of the most beautiful hymns we know, beloved by Christians lowly and great.
And here are the words to the song…
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.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
by Heather Plett | Jul 21, 2005 | Uncategorized
I had a dentist appointment today. I hate dentists. No wait – I should qualify that. I don’t hate dentists. Most of the dentists I know are decent people and not worthy of my hatred. My own dentist is, in fact, a fine man and I hold no ill will toward him. He’s handsome to boot. But I digress… what I really mean to say is I HATE DENTIST APPOINTMENTS!
There is nothing – absolutely nothing – that makes a person feel more vulnerable and passive than lying flat on your back in a chair with your mouth wide open. You are at the mercy of their instruments, you have no proper means of communication (unless you consider grunting inaudibly communication), you have nothing to do but stare up at the face poised inches from your own, the drool runs freely down your chin… need I go on?
But worse than the feeling of vulnerability is the feeling of shame. The moment I step into a dentist’s office, my mind goes to that “I’m a failure at oral hygiene” place, and that’s an ugly place. It’s not unlike a visit to the confessional. “Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 2 years since I last flossed. I eat candy too often, and once in awhile, I even go to bed without brushing my teeth.” Oh, the shame! “What can I do for absolution? Oh yes, I suppose I could start with flossing…” But then I go home from the dentist, floss once or twice, and revert very quickly to my old sinful habits. Only to face the shame again the next time I visit. I feel so stupid every time I have to answer that “did you floss” question with a pitiful “no”. But I never mend my wicked ways.
Ah, but this isn’t the end of this post… there’s a lovely little bit of poetic justice I’d like to tell you about. In September, I’ll be doing my first official (i.e. paid) consulting job. I’m facilitating a teambuilding/leadership retreat. And guess who my clients are. Yup, none other than a dental practice! Now isn’t that a delightful piece of irony? A growing dental practice is hiring ME to serve as an expert for THEM! I get to be the smart one in the room – the one who has some expertise that THEY want to learn from! HA HA! It makes me want to giggle with glee!
I know it wouldn’t be all that conducive to “teambuilding”, but do you suppose I could turn the tables and make THEM feel like they’re visiting confessional? I can almost hear it… “Forgive me Mother for I have sinned. I have treated the hygienists as less valuable members of the team. I skipped the teambuilding barbecue last summer. And no, I didn’t really have sick kids – I was out golfing.”
Ah, the devious part of my brain is delighting in the possibilities! Maybe I could build a practise out of “Teambuilding for Dentists”. It would be like therapy for all those times I’ve sat in their chairs. Think I’ll start making up my business cards…
(Oh, and by the way – guess what I was doing while reclined in the dental chair. Why, I was composing this blog in my head, of course. You really should try it. It’s a great way to distract yourself from the fact that someone is wielding a sharp instrument in your mouth!)
by Heather Plett | Jul 19, 2005 | Uncategorized
I played hairdresser this weekend. (Check out the look of concentration on my face!)
Nikki ended up with blonde highlights. And Julie’s is kind of purplish burgundy. (The box said purple, but it’s a little more burgundy than purple.)
Hey – I figure there are worse things they could want than funky hair. Julie’s been bugging me for blue hair for awhile now, but had to settle for purple when that was all we could find.
It was kinda fun. Pulling strands of hair through a plastic hood sure beats picking lice out of hair. Yes, I’ve done that too (way more times than I like to admit – there was a scourge of them in their school a few years ago), and I’d choose THIS hands down.
by Heather Plett | Jul 18, 2005 | Uncategorized
I’m feeling blue today. Blue, blue, blue. Why? Well, do I really NEED a reason? Sometimes, it just sneaks up on ya for no particular reason. But yes, I do have a few that come to mind…
1. It seems everyone I care about is busy going on trips. Perhaps not everyone (yes, I tend to exaggerate), but at least enough of them to make it seem like a trend. My sister and her husband flew to New York City this morning. My mom and her husband are leaving for Alberta today. One of my closest friends left for Ontario yesterday, and another one is leaving later this week. It feels like a conspiracy. We’d hoped to go on a trip this summer, but we really can’t afford it. Yes, I get to travel quite a bit for work, and I’ve been more places than most in the past year (Africa, Rome, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Regina), but that’s all work related and what I really long for is a nice vacation with my family. Plus, the last time my sister was in New York was with me, and now I’m hugely jealous that she’s going without me. (I TOLD you I wasn’t always mature.)
2. It’s Monday morning. Isn’t that enough of a reason to feel blue?
3. While already feeling emotionally weakened by the above 2 reasons, I got some fairly negative feedback for something I’d produced last week. I’ve been writing and designing material for a long time (most of my career), so I’m used to getting edited and slashed, but it’s not always easy to take it when your defenses are down. Plus some of the editing came from someone who NEVER gives any positive feedback, but if something’s not up to their standards, BOY do they feel free to give heaps and heaps of NEGATIVE feedback. I felt fairly good about this piece, and was very hopeful I’d get it to the printer today, but now I have to go back to the drawing board. Makes me wanna cry.
4. I’m pretty certain someone I care about is going to move away. It won’t be for good reasons, nor do I believe it will be the best for this person. But sometimes painful things happen and all you can do is stand back and watch.
So much for my happy posts. Shoulda known it wouldn’t last.
by Heather Plett | Jul 15, 2005 | Uncategorized
I had a positively lovely and invigorating ride in to work this morning. Here are some of the things that made it so lovely:
1. It’s 20 degrees this morning! Yay! A nice reprieve from the heatwave we’ve been having and a pure joy to bike in.
2. There were hot air balloons rising above the city. I LOVE hot air balloons!
3. The tunnel I usually go through to avoid a couple of busy streets is finally almost free of broken glass.
4. No cars cut me off this morning, nor did any transit buses elbow me into a corner.
5. I rode past a vegetable garden, green and lush with growth. The fragrance of fresh onions and dill filled the air.
6. I get to ride over 2 rivers on my way. The fork of those two rivers is where this city was built. Rivers give life and energy to a city. And being close to water calms me.
7. I like my bike. I look at the transit buses and I’m glad I’m not on them.
8. The sky was clear, bright blue. It’s been dry for nearly a week now. No rain! Yay! No puddles to navigate around or splash through. No black line up my butt from splashing, dirty water!
9. I get to ride past the Bears on Broadway – they always put a smile on my face. Thank you to whoever was responsible for this brilliant idea! A nice bright spot in our city’s downtown this summer.
10. It’s Friday.
About the only thing that wasn’t so good was that the path I usually take along the river for part of my ride is still under water. But hopefully, if this dry spell (yes, I know that 4 days without rain is too short to call a “dry spell”, but I can be hopeful, can’t I?) keeps up, it will be dry before the end of the summer. It’s a great place to ride because it’s right across from the rowing club and I get to watch early-morning rowing teams out practicing.
And now the words of Queen are running through my head… “I like to ride my bicycle…”
