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Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (1851-1920) was a teacher in the Philadelphia public school system when tragically she was attacked by one of her students who, it is said, smashed a slate against her back. She was severely injured and spent months in a body cast with a spinal condition during which time she wrote poetry and studied the Scriptures. On the day that her body cast came off, she went for a walk in a nearby park. One can imagine the joy she must have felt on that milestone of her physical recovery. It inspired the hymn below which speaks unequivocally that “There is sunshine in my soul today!”
Readers will note that the words of this hymn were written by Hewitt, while the music was composed by John R. Sweney. Sweney himself was a well-known musician who is credited with composing perhaps 1000 songs. Sweney collaborated with Hewitt on many hymns, as he had also collaborated with John Wanamaker. Many of Hewitt’s hymns are still sung today. This one stills brings a ray of sunshine to many.
