Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.

These are the opening words to the wonderful hymn written by Fanny Crosby. She is credited with writing more than 8,000 hymns in her lifetime. The words above are from the song titled “Blessed Assurance.” I chose to open this column today with these words because this hymn is one of my all-time favorites.

Fanny Crosby wrote many wonderful hymns. Among them are “Tell Me the Story of Jesus,” “Pass Me Not,” “To God Be the Glory,” “Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus Our Blessed Redeemer.” These songs are among those I dearly love. I could overflow my space today by naming other songs of hers that have greatly blessed my life over the years.

She was born in 1820 and she died in 1915. Obviously, she was talented and gifted. She was also blind! At six weeks of age she had an eye infection which left her blind for the rest of her life.

Fanny could have lived her life in self-pity, but she chose to make a contribution to the world. Oh, my, did she do that!! Sometime when you have an old church hymn, flip through the pages to find some of your favorite songs. Look for the author and you will see many of them have her name on them as the composer of the lyrics.

What a blessing she has been to many thousands of people over the years because she chose to be a positive impact, in spite of the severe handicap of blindness.

You may have many limitations. Birth, accidents, illness, abuse, mistreatment … many things can be a handicap. But Fanny Crosby is proof that God can use you in spite of any impediments in your life.

Fanny Crosby decided to be an overcomer… more than a conqueror! You can choose to be a victim … or a victor!

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Write the Pastor at PastorBill@findtruelife.com