“To weep and sigh because I’m blind, I cannot and I won’t!”
Fanny Jane Crosby was born in southeast New York on March 24, 1820. When she was just six months old, she got a cold in her eyes that had to be taken care of by a doctor. The doctor made a terrible mistake that cost Fanny Crosby her eyesight for the rest of her life. It was later learned that the doctor was not really a doctor at all, and not qualified to do medical work. Before he could be arrested, however, he left town, never to be heard from again. But there are no mistakes with God. Fanny once said,
“Mother, if I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour.”
When Fanny was a child, her mother introduced her to the Bible. As a result, Fanny’s life changed completely. She began writing poems about Jesus Christ. Although she was blind, Fanny Crosby “saw” 8,000 of her poems set to music and over 100,000,000 copies of her songs published. She wrote up to seven hymns a day. Over the years, she used as many as 200 pen names so that the public would not realize she was writing so much. Once in a while, she would hear a hymn that she liked and would ask someone who had written the words. Often, she would be surprised to be reminded that she herself was actually the writer!
Fanny Crosby wrote hymns such as “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “To God Be the Glory.” From an early age, she determined to rejoice in her limitations and the gifts she did have. When she was 8 years old, she wrote these words: “Oh what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be.”
Are you content with your life right now? What do you think you need in order to be happy? God has given you everything you need!
1 Timothy 6:8 – And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.