The Sparrow at Starbucks
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This is a touching story that I read on an internet chat group.
The
SPARROW at STARBUCKS - The song that silenced the cappuccino machine
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;
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 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...
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 an innkeeper
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 had four husbands
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer
Note: John the Baptist may have eaten carob
pods rather than locusts (insects):
The below excerpt is from the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratonia_siliqua
“.... the Greek word translated
"locusts" may refer to carob pods,
rather than to grasshoppers.[9]
— rb