Memories and Peace

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

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

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with 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

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

I am at Ashland Theological Seminary this week. I am taking a class called Transformational Chaplaincy. It has to do with personal transformation, with taking care of oneself, with setting appropriate margins. In other words, with living an appropriate Christian life. In today’s hectic world in which all personal care boundaries appear to have been lost, this is a class I have needed in my life. But, part of the class involves reflection about oneself. And, this afternoon, we were all given one hour to reflect on where we are. But, for me, the reflection took on a deeper tone because I graduated from this seminary back in 1975, and I have not formally studied here since then. It was the journey back that impressed me today.

I was walking around part of the seminary campus and realizing just how many buildings are here that were not here before. There are buildings named after some of my professors (more than one). I remember them as being alive and working here. Now they are halcyon memories of a former time when Ashland Theological Seminary started to become known nationwide as an excellent seminary. At first, I was thinking purely in terms of an old man’s memories. But, then it took a very personal turn.

I arrived at this seminary in January of 1974. I was less than a year out of the Army. Vietnam had just finished. I still did not know whether one or two of my training buddies had survived or not. That knowledge would not come until after the Vietnam Memorial (the Wall) was built. I was single, and had been told within the last year that I had a calling to ministry. I was told that at Lucerne Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia. I think that church still does not realize what a part they had in my life. But, here I was. I was not married. I was fresh out of the Army. Various of the students seemed so young to me, and various did not seem to know what life was all about. Yes, that was judgmental on my part. It was not a correct judgment, but also an common judgment among those who have gone through difficult circumstances.

Now, here I am, forty-three and one-half years after I had entered seminary. Since then, I have been married for 39 years. Since then, my wife and I have raised three daughters with whom I am in the deepest love. Since then, there are 9 grandchildren, with one more on the way, who have leapt into my heart and share that deepest love I have for my wife and our children. Life has had its difficulties. We have served as missionaries in South America for a decade. We have served the Lord in more than one location. We have picked up and moved when he has said to pick up and move.

I wandered over to the chapel, a chapel that did not exist when I was a student here. It was built later. It is big, compared to the narrow chapel that was shoe-horned into a space in a building on the campus. I walked in and looked around noting how much bigger it is than anything we had back then. I went to the front and prayed one of the Litanies from the Liturgy. I like the start of it, “Again and again, in peace, let us pray to the Lord.” Certainly peace is what I was feeling. Then, I walked over and picked up one of the hymnals. It was an actual old-fashioned hymnal, even though there was also an overhead screen. I flipped through a couple of hymns and landed on, “When Peace Like a River …” And, I started singing it.

After a bit, my eyes teared up, as I realized that, yes, “it is well, it is well with my soul.” I have family. I have God. I have a wife, daughters, and grandchildren. It is well. There have been very difficult times. There have been very painful times. Serving the Lord has not always been easy. But, decades later, it is well with my soul.