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 . 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 the
world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if
you play your 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;
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 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.
"Well ", she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite
song."
"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.