Birthplace
– Cincinnati, Ohio. Parents – Crosby and Doane. Or, perhaps another should get
some credit for the composition of “I Am Thine O Lord”; see what you think
after you learn what inspired the pen of 55-year-old Frances Jane Crosby in the
year 1875. It’s apparent from reading about her life that circumstances did not
have to be extreme for “Fanny” to write a poem that would later become a song.
It probably helped her to know that her partner William Howard Doane was in
tune with the same Spirit that inhabited her inner self. She was able to write
on the spur of a moment, a gift that helps explain her abundancy as a hymnist –
over 8,000 over her lifetime – that was more amazing because her hymn-writing
career began so late in life. But, it’s never too late to connect with a new
mission in life.
Fanny
Crosby had many musical collaborators, but perhaps none as close to her as
Howard Doane, whom she visited on occasion in his Cincinnati home. Though their
musical teamwork was often the outcome of their get-togethers, during this one incident
perhaps they both were not intentionally seeking such a result. It’s said they
were sharing about God’s proximity and His impact, and how He had blessed them
both. Indeed, Fanny and Howard were both success stories outside of their music-making
ventures – she as a writer and musician with hundreds of secular works to her
credit, and he a very prosperous businessman. Their conversation sparked her
imagination, but perhaps there was some other synergistic element there too. It’s
said that as the sun set that day, a shadowy scene portrayed His handiwork.
While this would have been invisible to Crosby, was it something that Howard related
to his blind friend – a further evidence of God’s presence, and an additional
ingredient in the topic of their conversation? To the perceptive Crosby, could she
feel the descending sun’s warmth vanishing bit by bit, but in a way calling out
to her? Whatever the cause, Crosby was seeking to go deeper (vv.1-2) than she’d
been up to that point. She recognized His presence had indeed come as she’d
sought Him (v. 3), but understood that she would not fully experience Him here
(v. 4). She reportedly spoke the words of the verses to Howard on the spot,
obviously with the movement of the Spirit giving her the inspired words. Howard
apparently wrote the music accompanying ”I Am Thine…” the following morning. It
would be interesting to know how often the Crosby –Doane collaborative
relationship worked in this way. They reportedly produced some 1,500 songs
together.Isn't it great what Christian fellowship can do?
Can it
be said that Fanny’s musical life is proof that God’s presence is persistent?
Sometimes it seems He’s near, but is He gone at other times, particularly when evil
seems so pervasive? Would the planet
lose its way in orbit if He was missing for even a brief second? Conflicting
evidence might tell us ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are at once the answers to these
questions. Maybe these are questions that Fanny asked herself too, spurring her
onward to a renewed mission work commitment as she broached the age of sixty,
five years after “I am Thine…” was born. To bring God close to those who needed
Him most was her urgent desire. A Cincinnati evening wasn’t a one-time
experience, but something Aunt Fanny wanted to build upon. What’s your building
look like?
See more
information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of
Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J.
Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Amazing
Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck,
Kregel Publications, 1990.
Also see this link, showing all four verses and the composer’s
story about the song: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/a/t/iatolord.htm
