Born in England in 1850, Louisa emigrated to the United States when she was 21. She felt called to missions work as a teenager and tried to pursue it as a young adult. When her plans for missions fell through due to her ill health, she married William Snead at age 25 and had one daughter they named Lily.
When Lily was a young child, the small family went on a picnic by the seaside. While there, they heard the screams of a drowning boy. William dove into the water to help the boy and ended up drowning alongside the boy with his family watching.
William’s untimely death left Louisa and Lily destitute, but reflected later that many times when she seemed to be at the end of her rope that some person would feel led by the Lord to bring her a meal or provide in some other tangible way. Grateful to Him, she wrote a poem which was later set to music:
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise, And to know, "Thus says the Lord!"
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How
I've proved Him o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!
O how sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me; 'Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking; Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.
She eventually traveled to South Africa to take up the missions work she had felt led to for so many years. There she remarried a local man and continued to rest in the Lord’s blessings. After a brief health visit back to the United States she and her daughter resettled in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) where she continued missions work the rest of her life. She died in 1917 and is buried there.
Lily followed her mother into missions work and married a missionary to serve alongside him.
http://hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/t/e/a/stead_lmr.htm
