Charlotte Elliott

I. I Peter 5

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
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In 1836 Rev. H V Elliott held a bazaar for a school he was building to teach young women the principles of the Word of God. The house was buzzing as everybody had their jobs to do getting ready for the big event. All except for the Rev.'s sister, Charlotte, who lay quietly in her bedroom unable to leave due to a chronic illness. Charlotte watched the excitement from her window frustrated to tears over her inability to do anything but stare at the walls. She moved from frustration to despair. But in her despair she turned to God. Oh, she was already a Christian but don't you sometimes let the world or the circumstances cloud your vision of God, like Peter did when the Lord invited him to walk on the water. And as Charlotte meditated on her Savior she wrote a poem. It wasn't very long but her sister found it and sent it off to a publisher. And a few years later William Bradbury who wrote the music for Jesus Loves Me and Sweet Hour of Prayer set Charlottes little poem to music. The school eventually fell into financial trouble and was bought out by another school. And from what I've read the school no longer
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New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (1 Pe 5:6-7). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

holds to the goals of its founders. The stated values on their web page didn't mention God at all but looked pretty much like any secular school. So the bazaar and the school basically forgotten as far as spiritual things but after 176 years the hymn written that night by a middle aged invalid suffering and frustrated lives on and is sung and loved by millions around the globe. A living tribute to our God who gives grace to the humble. None of us has anything we can be proud of in ourselves. No deed or action, no thought so grand, no physical skill or attribute that we can stand up and say look at me, I'm somebody. And if God can use this lady then He can use you and me, no matter who you are or what your circumstances. Charlottes story really touched me partly because she was also an artist and a writer. And because she suffered with a chronic health problems. And perhaps nothing is more humbling than physical illness but God gives grace to the humble. And all He asks is that I come to Him just as I am.