The Old Violin

 

'Twas battered and scarred,

And the auctioneer thought it

hardly worth his while

To waste his time on the old violin,

but he held it up with a smile.

 

"What am I bid, good people", he cried,

"Who starts the bidding for me?"

"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"

"Two dollars, who makes it three?"

"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three."

 

 

But, No.

From the room far back a gray bearded man

Came forward and picked up the bow,

Then wiping the dust from the old violin

and tightening up the strings,

He played a melody, pure and sweet

As sweet as an angel sings.

 

The music ceased and the auctioneer

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said, "What now am I bid for this old violin?"

As he held it aloft with its' bow.

 

"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"

"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"

"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,

Going and gone," said he.

 

The audience cheered,

But some of them cried,

"We just don't understand."

"What changed its' worth?"

Swift came the reply.

"The Touch of the Master's Hand."

 

"And many a man with life out of tune

All battered and bruised with hardship

Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd

Much like that old violin.

 

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,

A game and he travels on.

He is going once, he is going twice,

He is going and almost gone.

 

But the Master comes,

And the foolish crowd never can quite understand.

The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought

By the touch of the Master's Hand."

 

~by Myra Brooks Welch

 

Our dear friends sang this song in their concerts years ago, and it moved me to tears every
time I heard it.  Thanks Bob and Patty, for this special memory, and for reminding me again,
of the real difference "The Master's Hand" makes in lives.  I know that for a fact.