It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st
Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November
weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill
of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding
indoors to vie for available space and warmth.
For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in theworld,
I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you playyour
tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night,
because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure
gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also
added
rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop
songs
from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During
our
emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I
noticed
a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was
swaying
to the beat and singing along.
After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing
along
on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked.
"No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you
like to
sing up front on the next selection?"
To my delight, she accepted my invitation.
"You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?"
"Well. ... do you know any hymns?"
Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with.
I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to
church. I
gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one."
"Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one."
"Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"
My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on
mine
again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one."
She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her
jacket
and
faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to
sing.
"Why should I be discouraged? "
"Why should the shadows come? "
The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling
noises
of
the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were
doing
to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.
"I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free. "
"For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me. "
When the last note was sung, the applause crescendo's to a deafening
roar
that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall.
Embarrassed,
the
woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee!
I
didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get
somethin'
to
drink, just like you!"
But the ovation continued. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear,
have
made my whole year! That was beautiful!"
"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.
"Why is that?"
"Well ..." she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite
song."
"Really!" I exclaimed.
"Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause
had
subsided and it was business as usual. "She was 16. She died of a
brain
tumor last week."
I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence.
"Are
you going to be okay?"
She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna
be
okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs,
and
everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her
card,
and then she was gone.
Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that
particular
coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this
wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop?
Coincidence
that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very
hymn
that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week
before?
I
refuse to believe it.
God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning
of
time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a
coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a
revival.
It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his
songs,
everything's gonna be okay.
The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Saul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...AND Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now!!
God can use you to your full potential.
Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.
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