"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!" by Horatio G. Spafford, and ...

"All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy Who through life has my Guide? Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well!" by Fanny J. Crosby.

It was midsummer 1950, and I was on my way to Idaho with Rev. and Mrs. Morgan, a favorite Bible College Professor and his wife, to the funeral of my fiance who had suddenly died from Bulbar Polio.

Jack had graduated that spring at the age of 21, and we had plans to marry after I graduated the following year and to serve the Lord in missions or pastorates.

I was spending the summer teaching Bible Schools with the Student Missionary Council in small rural towns in Washington and Oregon when I received the news about Jack.

His parents asked Rev. Morgan to preach the funeral message, and made plans for me to drive with them to the service. It was a Sunday, so we stopped for church in a little town, and slipped in to the back seats to worship with the small group of people assembled there.

My heart was broken, utterly desolate, but when these above songs were sung, Jesus touched me and began to pour His healing Balm over my soul from that moment on, and throughout the days to come.

They were a great help when my father passed away four years later from terminal cancer at the age of 50. I had graduated from Bible College by then and had applied to The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) while attending Biola's School Of Missionary Medicine in Los Angeles.

However, before I was able to graduate I was called home to nurse my dad, which turned out to be one of the greatest privileges and blessings of my life. We had always been so close.

He had grown up in a godless family, and for 27 years my mother prayed for him to find Jesus as Savior and Lord, and God marvelously answered our prayers before dad died. He was absolutely transformed like John Newton, and spent his last days witnessing to everyone. Such comfort to our hearts, during our sorrow and grief, knowing we'd see him again one Glad Day!

Sometime later, I met and married Lee, my minister husband. He had served three small mission churches in Alaska for several years, but was now pastoring a litle church nearby before joining Moody Bible Institute (and later World Vision) as their northwest representative in five states and British Columbia.

We were blessed with two wonderful sons, but from the time they were born work kept him away one-half of every year which brought tremendous stress on our family life, so that our marriage gradually faltered and floundered, and then failed after 20 years.

It was like anathema to me. While we remained friendly through the years, I never fully recovered from this trauma. But God graciously blessed my life with two precious grandchildren and three beautiful greatgrandchilden who are a constant delight and joy.

One by one there have been losses in my life---my marriage, my mother and brother and sister, inlaws and cousins and aunts and uncles and close friends, and then my husband. But thanks to God, He has consistently enabled and strengthened me through every trial with His Perfect Peace.

That's what Jesus does for us when we trust Him with our lives---everyone has trials that are hard to bear, but He means it when He says in Matthew 11:29 that we will find rest for our souls!

Sixty years have gone by since that summer when I was 20, and I have found that God's strength is truly perfect, as CeCe Winans sings Stephen Curtis Chapman's beautiful song: