She was a native of one area, and usually didn’t wander far
from there, especially in her later years. But, perhaps Jessie Brown (later she
married a preacher named Pounds) must have mused about what it was like for her
on those few occasions when she did travel. And, she was also prodded by the
tune’s musical writer to think of the refrain “Anywhere with Jesus” as she
considered her prose for the poem she wrote in 1887. And, this didn’t stop with
her, for another hymnist, Helen Cadbury Alexander Dixon, picked up on the same
theme in 1915 and wrote two more verses. Both women were unique; they were in
fact separated by an ocean (see the Atlantic Ocean here). But, they found
something in common in this hymn.
It’s said that the
tune, which was written before the words took form, were what started this
composition that today we know as “Anywhere with Jesus”. The tune-writer,
Daniel Towner, had heard a powerful message by Dwight Moody one evening in Binghamton,
New York in 1866, and it caused him to boldly ponder that he could be anywhere
with the assurance that God would also be there. He contacted a 26-year old hymnist
named Jessie Brown that he knew in Cleveland, Ohio, and asked her to give the
hymn’s title a prominent place in what she would write. Jessie’s talent for
prose had been nurtured since adolescence, and though she’d had to quit her
post-high school education because of poor health, she didn’t let that stop her
from pursuing a career as a writer over the succeeding four decades. She composed
three verses, two of which are commonly used today. Traveling around and
sleeping were the themes of these two verses, which she must have felt covered
the spectrum of her existence. No matter if she was wide awake and moving about,
or instead was slumbering, she evidently felt a peace because of His presence. She
travelled to meetings and other fora outside of Ohio because of her profession,
so perhaps that helped spur her thoughts about spending time away from home and
yet having a security blanket. Almost 30 years later in 1915, 38-year old Helen
Cadbury – the British chocolate heiress – in Birmingham, England came across
the hymn and added her two verses, which survive today in most hymnal versions.
Her verses suggest she needed companionship (her 1st verse) and an
encouragement to reach out in missionary work (2nd verse). This is
really a window onto Helen’s life, which she recognized as a teenager she
wanted to commit to missionary work. She was instrumental in establishing The
Pocket Testament League, a form of evangelism this shy girl put into personal
practice to help talk to friends about their eternal needs. Friends and mission
work…they both come through clearly in Helen Cadbury Alexander Dixon’s words
and indeed her life. She really meant what she wrote.
Separated by the Atlantic Ocean, and by almost 30 years,
Jessie and Helen may not have ever met on earth. Helen, in fact didn’t write
her additional verses for Jessie’s original poem until six years before Jessie
died at age 60. And, although Jessie may have travelled professionally in her
younger years, it’s said that she preferred to stay at home in Ohio, a desire
that likely meant she was there in her later years too. Helen, meanwhile, was a
native Briton, who apparently only lived in the U.S with her second husband Dr.
Amsji C. Dixon, after their marriage in 1924, well after Jessie’s death. (She
apparently returned to her childhood home near Birmingham, England after her
second husband’s death.) Despite their distance in time and space, they met
poetically and musically -- kind of a nice thought, huh? Someday, somewhere,
time and space won’t matter for any of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment