Taking time to read these stories, reflect on their significance and, with encouragement from the assignment instructions, to savour the content of the first two sections of Lillian Eichler Watson’s Light from Many Lamps (1951) has been a sweet, serene, refreshing experience. The ability of stories to help us see beyond our current situation is often undervalued. I am quite happy to be reading these stories as part of the work for this course but also as a significant time for my own heart and soul.
The story of Sarah Flower Adams (Watson, 1951, p. 45) was particularly meaningful for me to remember we all have the opportunity to turn the negative of our own suffering into an enduring positive for the world around us. “Weaving the pattern of her own life story into a familiar scriptural background, Sarah Flower Adams produced a hymn of enduring beauty – a hymn of hope and faith – an inspiring source of comfort to millions” (p. 48).
Adams is best known and remembered for her work as the author of the lyrics to Nearer, my God, to Thee, inspired by her own failing health and the suffering she experienced. “She would write a poem about it, showing how our very suffering and afflictions may be steps bringing us nearer to heaven . . . nearer to God” (p.46). The words of this particular hymn have been sung around the world by generations of people needing to find comfort and reassurance in their own suffering.
No life, including my own, is exempt from suffering. The reminder from this story is that nothing is wasted, even suffering! Illness inspired these words which now have brought peace and comfort to millions of people, even those aboard the Titanic as it sank (p. 48).
The other reminder is for me as a leader. Those around me who are enduring suffering have value and significance to add to the larger community. They are more than their illness or their bankruptcy or their divorce. Even as people are going through hard times and difficult circumstances, they are valuable, loved, cherished members of the community and have so much good to offer the world.
Reference
Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your insightful post. I have actually never heard this song before so I had to listen to it on YouTube. What a powerful song. I absolutely loved the lesson you pulled from this story and how you focused on how those who are suffering are still have value and significance. When I read the story, my immediate reaction was that it was a lesson for those who are suffering to be productive and use their suffering to create good. I think all too often we see people who are suffering get stuck in a self-pitying cycle. I remember having a conversation with my mother about a friend of mine that was going through a hard time after losing a child and having some health complications. She was focused on figuring out why these things had happened to her specifically, and not someone else. To which my mom responded “why not her?”. She then said that whatever time we get with our children is a blessing, and reminded me that God never promised we would keep them until the end of our lives. She said that God gave us our children, and that they are His to call home. I think this is in line with your comment about how no one is exempt from suffering. We all have our crosses to bare and our true test of character is how we choose to respond in those times of suffering.