Fanny Crosby lost her sight as an infant. Yet, amazingly, she went on to
become one of the most well-known lyricists of Christian hymns. During her long
life, she wrote over 9,000 hymns. Among them are such enduring favorites as
“Blessed Assurance” and “To God Be the Glory.”
Some people felt sorry for Fanny. A well-intentioned preacher told her,
“I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He
showered so many other gifts upon you.” It sounds hard to believe, but she
replied: “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it
would have been that I was born blind? . . . Because when I get to heaven, the
first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”
Fanny saw life with an eternal perspective. Our problems look different
in light of eternity: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is
working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do
not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen
are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
All our trials dim when we remember that one glorious day we will see Jesus.
The way we view eternity will affect the way we live in time. (RBC)
