At the Cross

Life in the mid sixties, in a small town in Brazil was simple and yet quite idyllic.  Neighbors, church, school and family friends all blended into one large community in which we felt safe and loved. I do not remember having even a radio, never mind a TV or record player, (a thing of the past now) but it never dawned on me that we may be missing something. As kids, we easily memorized songs we learned at school or church and sang our playlist in our beds at night before we fell asleep. I also remember the great feeling when I learned to read and could take the  hymnal to my room to sing through every hymn that I recognized. My memory of choosing "On the Cross, on the Cross" as my favorite goes back to that time. (the words still sound better in German)

Recently someone in our MGCC group brought up the story of Fanny Crosby and with that we each started sharing a hymn written by her.  It is said that Fanny lost her eyesight at six weeks old, when a travelling doctor gave her the wrong treatment for an eye infection. Whether her eyesight would have been a problem despite the injection we'll never know, but what we do know is that Fanny Crosby lived her life to the fullest and did not consider herself handicapped. Her grandmother played a significant role in her life, teaching her about what she saw and encouraging her memorization of scripture. When she was almost fifteen, she began her studies at the New York Institute for the Blind where she eventually became a teacher. Fanny had a heart for the poor and addicts living in the Manhattan slums and spent much of her time ministering to them.

What I was hoping, when I started the thought about this post, was that I could credit her for writing my favorite hymn for this Easter season. After all, if she wrote 9000 hymns, there was a pretty good chance, right?  However, as I looked up her story I was surprised with something much sweeter!  I found out that, although Fanny spent years finding meaning in life through education, teaching and ministry, her true purpose came upon a personal experience  at the age of 38.  One night Fanny walked into a service at a Methodist Church where she heard the hymn by Isaak Watts, "At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light ... it was there by faith I received my sight ... " And it was this hymn that led her to dedicate herself and her writing skills to Jesus! The thousands of hymns she wrote were written after this experience.

It's humbling to us who can see, to realize how Fanny allowed the eyes of her heart to see even what we never may see.  In answer to people questioning her about wishing her blindness to be healed, Fanny was known to say that she considered her blindness to be a blessing, because the first face she would see would be that of her Saviour.

1. Jesus, keep me near the cross,
   There a precious fountain—
   Free to all, a healing stream—
   Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
   • Refrain:
     In the cross, in the cross,
     Be my glory ever;
     Till my raptured soul shall find
     Rest beyond the river.
2. Near the cross, a trembling soul,
   Love and Mercy found me;
   There the bright and morning star
   Sheds its beams around me.
3. Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
   Bring its scenes before me;
   Help me walk from day to day,
   With its shadows o’er me.
4. Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
   Hoping, trusting ever,
   Till I reach the golden strand,
   Just beyond the river.

Now that I know her story, I see this prayerful hymn penned by Fanny in light of her experience and going on from there to see the future through that same cross. The cross where love and mercy meet for every hope of tomorrow.

Sources:
http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/fanny-crosby-americas-hymn-queen-11630385.html
https://books.google.com/books?id=XcZw6Yz0mxYC&pg=PT49&lpg=PT49&dq=fanny+crosby+hymns+for+easter&source=bl&ots=YFye_nhTQK&sig=wa8GxXpLP_WEOED2Cb_YcbNRFsE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEwKP32ZXTAhVYHGMKHSl-DOIQ6AEIOjAF#v=onepage&q=fanny%20crosby%20hymns%20for%20easter&f=false