Welcome Home!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor the flame burn you.  For I Am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet, God leads his dear children along. Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet, God leads his dear children along.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children along. Sometimes in the valley, in the darkest of night, God leads his dear children along.

Though the sorrows befall us and Satan oppose, God leads his dear children along. Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes; God leads his dear children along.

CHORUS

Some thro’ the waters, some thro’ flood, some thro’ the fire, but all thro’ the blood, some thro’ great sorrow, but God gives a song. In the night season and all the day long.

George A. Young’s exact birthday is unknown, however his birth year was 1855. George was born to a poor couple who continually struggled financially. His father worked in a lumbar yard and was given scrap wood as payment to make his little family a house. George was taught about God and the Bible and became a Christian at a young age. He eventually became a preacher and a carpenter builder.  He struggled financially, too. One day in 1903, while he and his wife were out of town preaching, teenagers set his small house on fire, to make a statement that they did not approve of his preaching. Filled with anger and frustration that he and his wife had no home, he sat on the pile of ash that used to be his beloved little house. He was reminded of Job, John, and the book of Psalms.  He grabbed his Bible from the wagon, flipped through the pages and rekindled his faith in God. He quickly went back to his wife, and penned the lyrics to “God Leads His Dear Children Along”.  In 1935, George passed away.  A man by the name of Haldor Lillenas, moved from Scandinavia to America and wanted to learn English. He was befriended by an elderly English teacher who agreed to teach him.  This teacher taught him about God and Jesus through this hymn. The hymn deeply impacted Haldor and he wanted to meet the author. Sadly, after Haldor had tracked down the author, he discovered that George had passed away a few years prior.  Haldor decided he would try to find George’s widow, and he found her living in a poor house a few towns over. The two became friends and talked about Young’s life, and how God lead them along when the path seemed dark and weary. She prayed that God would use Haldor the same way that He used her late husband. Mr. Lillenas would go on to be a hymn-writer himself and also a publisher of many hymns and gospel writings.