The Hymn Writer Who Mailed Away Her Jewels

Frances Ridley Havergal was one of Victorian England's most gifted musicians. She could sing beautifully, play piano with remarkable skill, and had memorized large portions of Scripture. In February 1874, she penned the words that would become one of the church's most beloved hymns: Take My Life and Let It Be.

But Havergal didn't just write those words. She meant them.

Shortly after composing the hymn, she gathered her jewelry collection — pieces she had treasured for years — and packed them into a box. She sent them to the Church Missionary Society, keeping only a brooch and a small locket. In a letter to a friend, she wrote, "I never packed a box with such pleasure."

Think about that. She sang "Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold," and then she opened her jewelry box and started giving it away. The hymn wasn't a performance. It was a prayer she intended to live.

That's what real sacrifice looks like. It's not dramatic or reluctant. It's joyful. The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). And Jesus Himself, who gave everything on the cross, did so "for the joy set before Him" (Hebrews 12:2).

Sacrifice that flows from love doesn't feel like loss. It feels like finally getting to do the thing your heart was made for. Havergal never missed those jewels. She had found something far more precious.