The Sparrow
at Starbucks
The
song that silenced the cappuccino machine
by
John Thomas Oaks
It
was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on
51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square.
For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in
the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial
if you play your tunes right.
I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who
also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments.
During our emotional rendition of "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.
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 crescendoed to a deafening
roar. 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!"
"It's funny that you picked that particular hymn,"
she said.
"Why is that?"
She hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite song."
She 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 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.
True according to truthorfiction.com
This is based on an article by John
Thomas Oaks and published in the November/December 2001
edition of "Christian Reader", Vol. 39, No 6, Page
11.
