Aint’s That A VHIT
By Von C. Howard
There are some songs that stay with you, even when life pulls you in different directions. “It Is Well With My Soul” is one of those songs for me. I’ve heard it growing up in church, but I’ve also returned to it later in life, during seasons when I needed something steady, something familiar, something honest. This song has met me in moments of faith, and it has met me in moments of doubt. Either way, it always seemed to know what I needed.
What makes this song powerful is not how polished it sounds, but how real it is. It was written during a time of deep personal loss, yet its message isn’t about pretending everything is okay. It’s about learning how to stand when life doesn’t feel okay at all. That truth still matters today. We are all carrying something: stress, responsibility, disappointment, unanswered questions. And sometimes the hardest thing to do is keep moving forward without losing yourself.
As a Black man in my mid-40s, I’ve come to understand that life has a way of testing you in quiet ways. The weight doesn’t always come all at once, it builds over time. I’ve faced challenges that made me stop and reflect. I’ve questioned my purpose. I’ve wondered why certain prayers seemed to hang in the air unanswered. There were times when I kept showing up for others while trying to figure out how to stay grounded myself.
In those moments, “It Is Well With My Soul” didn’t push me to have everything figured out. It allowed me to pause. And in that pause, I learned that standing still does not mean giving up, it often means standing strong. The song reminded me that strength isn’t always loud or visible. Sometimes strength looks like patience. Sometimes it looks like endurance. Sometimes it looks like trusting that things can still turn out okay, even when you can’t see how.
This hymn has taught me that peace is not the absence of struggle; it is the presence of God in the middle of it. It means acknowledging the weight without allowing it to break you. I have learned that you can wrestle and still rest, question and still believe, wait and still be anchored. That truth speaks to every generation, those just beginning their journey and those reflecting on the road already traveled.
I also believe this song offers an invitation to everyone. Find that song, the one that brings you calm when things feel overwhelming. You never know when you’ll need it. Sometimes the very thing that helps you keep going is closer than you think, maybe even a simple click away when life feels heavy.
Through the years, through change, and through challenge, “It Is Well With My Soul” continues to remind me of a simple truth: storms will come, but they don’t have to knock you down. And because of that, even in uncertain moments, my soul can still say; it is well.