By Dan Quach
As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, we often pause to count our blessings—family, food, and the many good gifts God provides. But what about when life doesn’t go the way we expect? Can gratitude still be our response?
Fanny Crosby, the beloved hymn writer of Blessed Assurance and thousands more, offers us a remarkable example. During her lifetime she wrote over 8,000 hymns, making her one of the most prolific Christian hymn writers ever. At just six weeks old, she developed swollen eyes. The family doctor was unavailable, so another physician came and put an unknown substance in her eyes. That mistake left her blind for the rest of her life. And yet, at 85 she reflected: “I have never felt a spark of resentment against him because I have always believed from my youth to this very moment, that the good Lord, in His infinite mercy, by this means consecrated me to the work that I am still permitted to do.”
Her life was filled with challenges, but also with light. She was determined to get an education, so at age 15 she left rural New York to attend the New York Institute of the Blind, where she learned a precursor to braille. Poetry was one of the key forms of entertainment in her day, and she became extraordinarily gifted—so much so that pride began to creep in. But one day her superintendent told her: “Remember that whatever talent you possess belongs wholly to God; and that you ought to give Him the credit for all that you do.” That seed of wisdom took root. Even as she became famous—reading her poetry before Congress, meeting four U.S. presidents, and becoming friends with President Cleveland—she always gave glory to God, not herself.
In today’s world, where resentment and anger so easily take root—whether in personal relationships or even in the comment sections of news articles—Fanny reminds us of the words of Jesus: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22–23) Even without physical sight, her spiritual vision was clear. She chose forgiveness over bitterness, gratitude over self-pity, and Christ over self-promotion.
This Thanksgiving, may her story remind us that gratitude is not just about thanking God when life is good. It’s about trusting Him in hardship, forgiving those who have wronged us, and letting His light shine through us. Like Fanny, may we too be able to say with confidence: “All the way my Savior leads me.”