When We All Get to Heaven – Eliza Hewitt

Eliza Hewitt was once a school teacher. Since she died in 1920, it’s not really a surprise that I use that word ‘once’ in reference to her vocation in the past tense. But, people might have used this word to describe her while she was still living too, in fact long before she departed from this earth. Eliza Hewitt began her teaching career in public schools soon after graduating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the late 1800s, but she was forced to stop by a physical disability in her spine. She was handicapped for most of her life, so we might feel sorry for her. Yet, she didn’t become disabled – far from it. She channeled her life into instruction on Sundays, and even if she couldn’t be a Monday-Friday teacher in a conventional sense, one might say she taught many more people than she might have by standing in a classroom. In fact, she still does today, through many songs she wrote, like “When We All Get to Heaven”.

Eliza Hewitt became a Sunday school superintendant at the North­ern Home for Friend­less Child­ren, and also at the Cal­vin Pres­by­ter­i­an Church, but her song-writing career contained perhaps her best teaching. She didn’t live in despair, nor in the past as a ‘once’ person. Notice the words she uses in the song “When We All Get to Heaven”. Her words, when put to music by her friend Emily Wilson at a summer camp at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, instruct us, as well as move us emotionally about our eternal home. From her words, we find that we can be confident, that we can look forward to many things up there. ‘Mercy’, ‘grace’, a home with Jesus, never-ending happiness, glory and splendor of our Master, and His divine beauty -- these are all the mental images that flowed through Eliza Hewitt’s spirit in 1898.

There’s something else, too, another small word that captures my attention…will. Hope comes through in Hewitt’s song. That seemingly insignificant word ‘will’ is pretty important, because it lets me lean forward, to vocalize my yearning for something more, particularly if life here has been hard. I have to admit, I don’t yet get this one. My life hasn’t taken an ugly, unexpected turn…yet. Eliza came at life, and this song, from an experience that makes me cringe. But, knowing that she didn’t crumble, but in fact thrived and rejoiced in anticipation of her future gives me pause. I need not be overwhelmed by physical challenge, even aging. Sure, I and my family and friends won’t always smile as we decline. I expect that I’ll creak (I already do, in some ways), and curse my own body’s discomforts at times. But, I think I’m beginning to detect a wry smirk on my face, reserved for Satan’s darts, knowing he cannot lay a hand on my future. Is that overconfidence talking, a chutzpah that hasn’t yet been tested? Maybe, but Christian examples like Eliza Hewitt help gird my faith, and I’m counting on God helping me discover more ‘songscoops’ like her. Here’s a 4th verse to Eliza’s song: “Onward to the prize before us! Soon His beauty we’ll behold; soon the pearly gates will open, we shall tread the streets of gold.”

Information on Eliza Hewitt gathered from the following website: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/h/e/w/hewitt_ees.htm Stories on Eliza Hewitt also in the following books: “The Complete Book of Hymns: Inspiring Stories about 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2006. “Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.