Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is considered by many to be America’s greatest poet.  He is quoted as once saying, “Believe me, every man has his secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad.”  He was writing from experience.   A Hallmark movie his life was not!

He was married in 1831 and by 1834 had a wonderful wife, a dynamic reputation, and a house overlooking the Charles River.  He seemed to have it all, yet within a year of moving to that home in Massachusetts, his wife became ill and died.

It took him seven years before he recovered enough to marry again. With a new love, the good life returned to him. The Longfellows welcomed five children into their home. It was during this time that he wrote some of his greatest works- The Song of Hiawatha and The Courtship of Miles Standish, to name two. In 1861, at the height of his greatness, tragedy struck again. While lighting a match, his wife’s dress caught fire and she burned to death. Then before he could hit his stride, his faith was challenged by the American Civil War.

He hated the Civil War-it tore at his heart to see the land he loved, the United States, to be so fractured. Longfellow was an ardent believer in the power of God to move on earth, and he pleaded with God to end the madness. When his oldest son was injured during the war, while tending to his wounds and seeing others around him doing the same, his prayers turned to rage. He asked his friends, and his God, where is the peace? He took pen to paper and penned the refrain from the song we often hear at Christmas: “I heard the bells on Christmas day/Their old familiar carols play/And wild and sweet the words repeat/Of peace on earth good will to men…And in despair I bowed my head: “There is no peace on earth I said/For hate is strong and mocks the song/Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

I suspect if we are honest we have all asked the same question about peace and have stated it (perhaps without as much clarity). The angel’s announcement to the shepherds that night was “peace on earth among men on whom God is pleased.”  May we all come to know the peace He promises us.