Fanny Crosby, the author of the famous hymn “Blessed Assurance”, along with more than 8,000 other hymns, was blind almost from birth. She wrote about her blindness and said that, given the chance to have her sight restored by a simple and even convenient operation, She would choose not to have it: “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.” Fanny Crosby experienced a bottomless well of inspiration for the writing of her hymns, and she was afraid that sight would be such a distraction that she would lose her inner vision. For sighted people it’s hard to imagine desiring to be blind, but at the same time it is inspiring to recognize an active creative inner life that does not depend on physical vision.

The giant bill boards that line our urban roadways are proof that vision can indeed be distracting. The giant screens in our own homes, some times in every room, are more evidence that we rely heavily on our eyes for stimulation and distraction. Entertainment is one of the largest industries in the world; and without having seen anything at all, Fanny Crosby “saw” that something else was bigger and even more important than our very eyes.

“Then Jesus told him (Thomas) ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.,’” (John 20:28) The Psalmist wrote, “I seek you with all my heart, Do not let me stray from your commands..I have hidden your word in my heart , that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord!” (Psalm 119:10)

The words to Fanny Crosby’s hymns are inspired by scripture and her life experiences. One of her favorites, “I am thine, Oh Lord”, gives a glimpse of this woman’s spiritual life: “Oh the pure delight of a single hour that before your throne I spend, when I kneel in prayer,and with you, my God, I commune as friend with friend.” “I am thine,Oh God” has more verses and a chorus, but this stanza seemed to me to be a picture of her life of prayer and her sense of intimacy with her God.

In spite of the wide chasm of time between the psalmist , the writers of the Gospels, and the life of a nineteenth century woman, the immediacy of a close loving relationship with an invisible God is very clear in all of them. How hard could it be to put aside our distractions and find our own inner vision?

Love in Him,

Prue