It is interesting how history repeats itself. I recently began to rebuild my vinyl record collection lately. It started with me finding a really nice stereo receiver at a garage sale for $20. Next, I was able to track down a nice turn table and speakers to round out the set up. Where things got ugly was buying vinyl records. News Flash: vinyl records are on the comeback. As I sit in my basement and enjoy my vinyl records in all their stereophonic glory (two speakers instead of 7) I am reminded of the inventor…Thomas Alva Edison.
How many of you are aware that Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and held the patent for it? With regards to the presentation of the first phonograph to Congress, the Washington Post described Edison as a "genius" and his presentation as "a scene... that will live in history". Do you remember it, I certainly didn’t. I wonder how much of what we are currently experiencing will be a day that “lives in history.”
I have said many times before that I believe that we are living in unprecedented times; we are living in a war! Trump has even said as much:
· “This attack was worse than Pearl harbor”
· “I am a wartime president”
· “We were attacked”
The problem is that it is just doesn’t feel like we are at war: the battlefield is hidden, the enemy lurks in the shadows, and our media pretends that life is normal (with a completely inserted and fraudulent resident in the White House). Often, the enormity of a situation is not known until long afterwards. It is why history has a paintbrush and creates the final masterpiece of events. The truth is, Thomas Edison knew his invention was pretty enormous but missed the greater message. While his name will forever be connected with great inventions and moving science and technology forward, Thomas Edison’s life is a tragedy of what could have been and yet never was.
Thomas Edison has been called an atheist, but he actually believed in nature as God and that there was “no immortality of the soul.” Sadly, when the first phonographic record was created, Edison never really grasped the message of the song, “I will sing of my redeemer.” Written by Phillip Bliss and set to the tune of James McGranahan this song is a favorite of many churches and finds its place in most hymnals throughout the world. Still, the message and its story is lost by Edison and by so many others. Had Edison taken the time to appreciate what was right before him he may have been able to change lives for years to come with a message of hope…that arises from great tragedy.
I hear the tragic stories of fellow patriots who have lost loved ones, jobs, homes and possessions, friendships, and retirements because (or in part) to the great war we are in. I hear the despair in their voices, the hopelessness in their tweets, and the doubt that anything is really happening. You see, Phillip Bliss endured his own tragic story. On December 29th 1876 Mr. Bliss was traveling with his wife near Ashtabula Ohio when a bridge over a ravine collapsed. The train fell into the ravine and caught fire. Phillip escaped only to learn his wife was trapped in the fire, he returned to rescue her and was never seen again. A tragedy by any definition of the word.
“Found in his trunk, which somehow survived the crash and fire, was a manuscript bearing the lyrics of the only well-known Bliss Gospel song for which he did not write a tune: "I Will Sing of My Redeemer."
All Thomas Edison will ever know is his legacy of “stuff” he invented. He will never know the sacrifice, or the price paid to deliver that song.
Horatio Spafford was a prominent American lawyer and Presbyterian church elder in the mid to late 19th century. Two years after the great Chicago fire of 1871, Spafford, his wife, and four daughters planned a trip to Europe aboard the steamship Ville De Havre. Late business demand kept Horatio from joining them. His plan was to join them later. Perhaps no greater tragedy could be endured by a parent than to receive this news.
On November 22, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on the steamship Ville du Havre, the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, killing 226 people, including all four of Spafford's daughters: Annie, age 12; Maggie, 7; Bessie, 4; and an 18-month old baby.
His wife, Anna, survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in England, she sent a telegram to Spafford that read "Saved alone."
Upon hearing this news, Spafford boarded the next ship to Europe to join his wife. As they were crossing the spot where the Ville De Havre had sunk, many family members of those who were lost began dropping wreath in remembrance. It is at this moment that Horatio Spafford penned the words to this hymn:
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.
(Refrain:) It is well (it is well),
with my soul (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 hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
(Refrain)
And Lord haste the day, when the 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 should come as no surprise that the tune for this hymn was written by non-other than Phillip Bliss.
How in the world can such a beautiful hymn arise from such a horrible tragedy? Where does one find the strength to utter such inspiration from such a hopeless situation? I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know that three lives were connected in unlikely ways to paint a very drastic picture; an abstract masterpiece of contrast.
Two lives were struck by unspeakable tragedy and had the hope that comes from knowing a savior greater than own circumstances. Having lost it all they found great peace and lasting testimony…unlikely heroes. And then there was Thomas Edison who was the benefactor of their pain, tragedy, hopes, and talents and all he could see was the temporal opportunity.
I say all that to say this, don’t lose hope Patriots! You have the chance to be an unlikely hero if we can manage to find hope and our savior in the midst of these trying times. I have not lost hope in our Republic and all the great people I have come to know over these last few months. Someone once said, “We have more than we know.” Our sufferings and our tragedies will make for a great story one day especially when they yield a lasting testimony that changes lives. Don’t be afraid to cry, don’t be afraid to pray, and don’t be afraid to hope because the best is truly yet to come.
Biernutz_71
12/18/2021
“I would rather die with hope and Christ in my heart and be called a fool than stand over the dead corpse of the republic and say, “I told you so.”
Amen brother!
Great story Biernutz!!