Exploring - The Christian Women Who Lived Before us.

Fanny Crosby, the blind American hymn writer and poet, composed more than 8,000 hymns, many of which are still sung today. Despite losing her sight shortly after birth, she viewed her blindness as a divine gift and used it as a means to glorify God. Her songs carried themes of assurance, redemption, and the nearness of Christ, and her life testified to unwavering faith and remarkable spiritual insight.

Selected Anecdotes:

1. Quiet Counsel
She spent afternoons sitting quietly in rescue missions, letting anyone sit beside her and talk as long as needed.

2. Street Evangelism
She would sit with blind beggars and sing gospel hymns to them, saying: “We see with our hearts.”

3. Room for the Poor
She insisted that anyone too poor to attend meetings be given her own front-row seat.

4. Comfort for Widows
She kept a list of grieving women and mailed handwritten hymns to comfort them monthly.

5. River Baptism Hymn
She wrote a hymn on the riverbank as she listened to new believers being baptized in icy water.

6. Prayer Bell
She rang a small bell every hour to remind herself to stop and thank God for one thing.

Famous Quotes by Fanny Crosby:

1. “Blindness cannot keep the sunlight of hope from the soul.”
2. “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 Savior.”
3. “A good hymn is the gospel set to music.”
4. “It is not enough to sing the truth — one must live it.”
5. “I have never had a trial that I did not find God sweeter than the trial.”
6. “The songs I write are simply my heart speaking to His.”

Legacy: Fanny Crosby’s legacy continues to inspire generations. Her hymns, such as “Blessed Assurance,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “To God Be the Glory,” remain pillars of evangelical worship. Her life reminds us that even in darkness, the light of Christ can shine through in beauty and truth.

Christian Women Throughout the Centuries have stood as pillars of faith, often in the shadows, yet shaping the world in eternal ways. From the early martyrs and desert mothers to modern-day missionaries, hymn writers, reformers, and caregivers, these women have testified to the power of Christ in weakness, courage in hardship, and joy in service. Their lives reflect unwavering devotion, sacrificial love, and a firm belief in God’s sovereign purpose.

Selected Anecdotes:

1. Hidden Hospitality
   Many opened their homes to traveling preachers and missionaries, quietly fueling revivals from their kitchens and parlors.
    
2. Chains and Courage
   Imprisoned for sharing the gospel, some wrote letters of encouragement that later inspired movements of reform and revival.
    
3. Bible in Secret
   Women across centuries risked their lives to hide, copy, and teach the Scriptures during times of persecution.
    
4. Care in Crisis
   Christian women served on battlefields and plague wards, tending the wounded and dying when others fled.
    
5. Voices in Song
   They composed hymns, poems, and prayers that still echo in churches and homes today, turning sorrow into praise.
    
6. Mothers in Faith
   Through patient instruction and fervent prayer, countless women raised children who became leaders in the church.