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I am moved, and deeply touched.вЂќДЄs we manage the greatest global health crisis of most of our lifetimes, and walk through Passover, Good Friday, and Easter, letвЂ™s revisit one of the greatest gospel songs of all time, CeCe WinansвЂ™ вЂњAlabaster Box!вЂќ The Lord will use anything and anyone, so I feel humbled and honored and thrilled to have been such a blessing. вЂњIt amazes me to travel the world and see where the song has gone, and see the impact that itвЂ™s had on people. вЂњI was delighted when I learned that CeCe Winans wanted to record it, and I have been amazed at the stories people have shared of their connection to вЂAlabaster Box,вЂќ Sjostrand said. Sjostrand warmly shared her thankfulness for having been a part of blessing so many gospel music fans with вЂњAlabaster Box.вЂќ I was a young woman with young children, and that was my testimony.вЂќ That song was a photograph of my life at that moment, trying to pursue God outside of the norm. I was just so moved by that story, and recalling my own experiences as a little girl desperately trying to find God. вЂњWhen I got home, I firmed up the melody line, and I donвЂ™t know whether I changed a few lyrics of not, but I just typed up those lyrics. вЂњWhen he was done and it was time for my altar call, I sat down at that grand piano and I just sang those words, creating a melody line, singing those hand written words on that envelope.вЂќ вЂњWhen my father-in-law began to preach that sermon, I was so deeply moved that I took an envelope - I canвЂ™t remember whether I had it in my purse or whether it was a tithing envelope - and I wrote down the words sitting right there in the pews,вЂќ Sjostrand earnestly continued. ThatвЂ™s my personal testimony: IвЂ™ve always felt, since I was nine years old, like that woman with the alabaster box.вЂќ He began to speak on the woman with the alabaster box. вЂњMy father in law had gone back to his home church an alumni event, and I agreed to sing after his sermon. вЂњI remember exactly when I wrote it,вЂќ Sjostrand shared by phone. She grew up in Santa Ana, California and began a walk with Christ when she was just nine years old.ДЄnd just as Sjostrand vividly recalls her initial meeting with Jesus, she remembers writing вЂњAlabaster BoxвЂќ as if it were yesterday. The songwriter and her husband co-pastor Christian Apostolic Church in Newark, Ohio. ItвЂ™s one of the most powerful songs IвЂ™ve ever heard.вЂќДЄfter hearing about Winans finding the song, and her connection to it, I had to track Sjostrand down.

I can only deliver those songs that take me down, that minister to me, that lift me up. ItвЂ™s often a good message, but I donвЂ™t feel it. вЂњOften, someone will present a song to me and itвЂ™s a great song, but if it doesnвЂ™t minister to me, I donвЂ™t really feel it. вЂњIt describes the meaning and the power of worship. вЂњI held that song for a few years, because it just had to be the right CD, the right time,вЂќ Winans continued. Winans told me that she knew she had to record the song, but the time had to be right. I got into my bunk on the tour bus that night, and I put the song on, and a girl was singing вЂAlabaster BoxвЂ™, all the way stripped down. вЂњI was on tour years ago, and someone gave me a cassette tape and said it had a song on it that I needed to hear. вЂњWhat a song,вЂќ Winans declared during a phone chat from her home in Nashville. As it turns out, вЂњAlabaster BoxвЂќ had quite an impact on the gospel music legend when she heard it for the first time. Independent of your personal religious beliefs, thereвЂ™s something powerful about hearing anyone speak their truth as earnestly as Winans does. The songwriter declared вЂњDonвЂ™t be angry if I wash His feet with my tears and dry them with my hair / You werenвЂ™t there the night Jesus found me / You didnвЂ™t feel what I felt when He wrapped his loving arms around me / And you donвЂ™t know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box.вЂќ

Written by Janice Sjostrand, вЂњAlabaster BoxвЂќ details a profound moment of worship. So as we combat both the realities of a global pandemic and a media barrage that sometimes seems as unrelenting as the novel coronavirus itself, music is a balm, and no song brings more comfort that CeCe WinansвЂ™ epic вЂњAlabaster Box.вЂќ As Christians worldwide observe the most Holy Week of the year, itвЂ™s a perfect time to deconstruct that masterpiece, which was the title track to WinansвЂ™ fourth solo album, released in 1999.

For centuries, songs like вЂњAmazing GraceвЂќ and вЂњHis Eye Is On The SparrowвЂќ have proven their utility for getting music fans over the rough side of the mountain. Nothing beats a good gospel song when the going gets rough.

Cece winans alabaster box album