Stories.

They’ve comforted us since childhood when we listened to Grandpa’s memories, sat under the spell of a movie, or cuddled up to a parent with a book. They are an escape for our mind. Sickness, sadness, stress, oppression of all sorts take a back seat to a great story.

One of the most joyful hymns ever written is a great story. Ironically, it came out of sickness.

The author, Katherine Hankey, was born into a well to do family in England in the 1830s. She kept busy organizing church groups for all classes of society and aided her missionary brother in South Africa as well.

But when she was thirty, all her business stopped. She became very ill. Yet as her body suffered through sickness, her spirit thrived.

While ill, Hankey wrote the beloved hymn “I Love to Tell the Story” — Jesus’ story. It is His tale of heartbreak and redemption, with puzzles, prophecies, and all the pieces of an excellent thriller.

Jesus’ story has captivated people’s hearts for thousands of years, taking them out of oppression and giving them peace. Hankey knew that telling Jesus’ story, remembering it, reading it, and meditating on it would turn weakness into peace for her too.

Ponder His story. Speak it. Sing it. Absorb its peace.