Jesus Paid it All

Last night my church had a communion service. I was asked to play my cello during this solemn remembrence of our Lord's death and resurrection. One of the hymns I played was "Jesus Paid it All," by Elvina M. Hall. Before I played I read over the words several times and they spoke to me in many ways.

I hear the Savior say,

"Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness watch and pray,

Find in Me thy all in all."

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim;

I'll wash my garments white

In the blood of Cal'vry's Lamb.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

And now complete in Him,

My robe, His righteousness,

Close sheltered 'neath His side,

I am divinely blessed.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone,

Can change the leper's spots

And melt a heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

When from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,

"Jesus died my soul to save,"

Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete,

I'll lay my trophies down,

All down at Jesus' feet.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

What a wonderful Savior I have to have come to this earth to pay a price for me -- a price so high that it required Him to die on a cruel cross. The most amazing thing to me is that Jesus loved me so much that He not only went, but He went willingly. I truly have nothing good to give in order to claim His grace, but that is the most wonderful of all, He did it for me for free. He paid it all, who am I to not willingly give Him my life, my love, my all?

Drummer Boy

This dude is absolutely amazing....I've never seen anyone drum as well as he does...he only gets better as he goes! It's crazy!

R.I.P Sherwood

Sunday, May 2, 2010, Sherwood "Woody" Drazich died of a broken neck. He lived a short, but amazing life of six years. He was my friend, companion, and most of all a fellow partner in crime, my cello.

No one knows what happened, only that I opened my case to play in the church orchestra on Sunday morning and he was broken. I cried many tears. Several people were standing around and no one knew anything about it. I put him back in his case and left. I got to church Sunday night, and the high school band teacher came to me and said, "Hannah, were you messing with your cello this afternoon?" My response was a resounding "No!" She said, "Well, come look at this..." I walked back to the music room and my cello case was laying on the floor, closed, but not latched shut, and I could see the strings hanging out of the case. I knelt down next to Woody and opened his case. His neck was completely broken off and the tail piece and bridge were also off. Again, no one claimed to know anything.

I took some pictures which were emailed to a repairman, and the estimated cost for reviving poor Woody is not worth the money. In other words, my dear Woody is dead forever.

We shared some good times together from the first day we met until his final hours. From running all over creation together, zillions of lessons, hours of practicing, many times of playing in church, at special events, in nursing homes, weddings, and just goofing off with friends, our times together were always filled with much enjoyment.

My favorite memory of Sherwood is the time that I was playing an offertory one Sunday in New York. The end pin wasn't quite right, so I moved to adjust it. Apparently, the music director, who was sitting right behind where I was playing, moved at the exact same time. Suddenly there was a loud CRACK!!!!!!!!!! Good old Woody had hit the music director in the head - HARD! It was hard enough to knock the strings horribly out of tune. By this time my pianist had already started playing the introduction to my song. Well, I unsuccessfully tried to tune him, but it was of no use. So, I played, or rather, I attempted to play. It was quite disturbing, but I made it through the song. What happened to the music director, you ask. He had a knot on his head for almost an entire week!

Woody will be missed forever and ever, but his memories will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.

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The Good Times!

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Sadness!

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