“It is well, with my soul, it is well, with my soul, it is well, it is well, with my soul.” As referenced earlier in the semester, Horatio Gates Spafford wrote the lyrics to this famous hymn during one of the hardest times in his life. Not only did Spafford and his wife lose their only son to scarlet fever, but when planning a family vacation to England, his wife and four daughters were aboard a boat that collided with an English vessel and sank in only 12 minutes; leaving 226 people dead. Mrs. Spafford survived, but her four daughters were killed. Despite these devastating tragedies, Horatio Spafford writes the lyrics to this famous hymn. Similarly, in The Road, the father and son are living in an unfavorable, horrific, desperate time. The world has been nearly completely destroyed. Lives have been lost. Food and essential needs are scare. Fear is prevalent. Destruction is evident and looming. Numerous times in the story, the word “okay” is used. Namely, when the father and son are conversing, one passage says, “That would be okay. Yes. That would be okay.” Additionally, even though the father and son do not always agree, the son seems to eventually concede to the father and honor Papa’s wishes. When things go wrong and circumstances look grim, the father is constantly reassuring the son that everything is okay. Despite not know where they are going or where their next meal is going to come from, the father is constantly assuring the son that everything is okay. In fact on page 232 and continuing, the scene is describing the boy loosing the pistol and them having to return back to where they were to find it.
“The boy stood with his shoulders slumped. He was beginning to sob. The man knelt and put his arms around him. It’s all right, he said. I’m the one who’s supposed to make sure we have the pistol and I didn’t do it. I forgot. I’m sorry, Papa. Come on. We’re okay. Everything’s okay.”
Understandably, throughout the story, the boy is constantly asking Papa questions. The boy is constantly worried and desires assurance that everything is going to be okay. Even though the surroundings and their situations look grim, the boy needs the confirmation. Further down on page 232, they found the pistol to which Papa told him to hold. The boy says, “Is it okay, Papa? Of course it’s okay.” When they can’t see where they are going and night has taken over while they are walking on the beach, Papa tells the boy to keep going to which the boy responds on page 233, “I cant see. I know. We’ll just take it one step at a time. Okay. Don’t let go. Okay. No matter what. No matter what.” The passage continues by saying they went “on in perfect blackness, sightless as the blind.”
During the darkest times in life, it is difficult to trust God. It is highly difficult to trust God’s plan when situations do not turn out the way one had hoped. As in the novel, clearly Papa and the boy are in a bad situation. Even though they have disagreements about what is best for them and what they should do, eventually the son usually responds by saying “okay.” Despite not being able to understand why Papa does certain things, he still says okay. Furthermore, when the son is afraid, sorrowful, and fearful of the unknown, Papa is there to comfort and reassure his son that everything is going to be “okay.” What if we just said “okay” to God? Even when we, like the son, are walking along the sandy beaches in utter darkness; when we are completely blind, are we able to hold on tight and not let go? Are we able to say okay to God even though we have no idea where we are going? As in their case, they don’t necessarily know where their next meal is coming from. They don’t have a home, car, food, internet- all the other luxuries of life. The son is continuing to trust his Papa even though he is scared, afraid, hungry, tired, and sick. He says “okay” to whatever his Papa has planned. May the prayer of our hearts be: “Lord, I trust you.” One step at a time- I trust you. Even though I can’t see where I’m going and I don’t understand why, help me to be able to sing and rejoice in you; knowing that You can be trusted; knowing that everything really will be OKAY.
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