Hi to all my Forum Friends,
A few days ago, my cousin, Bill Collins, who lives in the Chicago area, sent me an e-mail with the following true story. I have seen this story before, but today it touched a special place in my heart. So, I decided to check it out to see if it is True, False, or just a Rumor. It is True! And, for that reason, I want to share it with all my Friends.
Sparrow At Starbucks
It was chilly in Manhattan, but warm inside the Starbucks on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip from Times Square.
For a musician, I'm told it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world. The tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right.
I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who 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 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 Starbucks store. 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 something 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 Starbucks? 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.
You can verify this story at:
His Eye is On the Sparrow-At Starbucks-Truth!
http://www.truthorfiction.com/...row.htm#.U3fjcUZOU5s
Summary of the eRumor: A warm story about a man who is a musician and who was performing at a Starbucks. A woman who caught his eye because of her being caught up in the music came and apologized if her singing along had been a problem. He spontaneously asked her if she wanted to sing. She accepted, said she'd like to sing a hymn, and asked him to choose one. He suggested "His Eye is On The Sparrow," a well-known and much-loved Christian song. She sang, the audience loved it, and afterwards, she told the musician that it was been interesting that he had chosen that particular song because it had been her 16-year-old daughter's favorite song, who had died the previous week.
The Truth: This is based on an article by John Thomas Oaks and published in the November/December edition of "Christian Reader."
This is John Thomas Oaks recording of the beautiful hymn "Farther Along" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u21fxvOl1-4
I am listening to his recording as I write. God is blessing me through this man's great talent on the piano. This is one of the most beautiful renditions of this hymn I have ever been blessed to hear.
His web site is: http://www.johnthomasoaks.com/
Funny side note about the hymn "Farther Along." I grew up in Alabama loving that hymn, but always thought it was titled "Father Alone." One day, in my mid-60s, as I was listening to a CD of Randy Travis -- I listened closely to the words and found that all my life I had mislabeled the song. Yet, even my mislabel works:
Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all the day long;
While there are others living about us,
Never molested, though in the wrong.
Refrain:
Farther along we’ll know more about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by.
The hymn tells us that "farther along" we will eventually know why bad things often happen to good people, while not-so-good people seem to prosper. I could also look at that as "Father alone" can tell me why. So, was I really that wrong in my mislabeling of the message?
When the musician, John Thomas Oaks, who wrote this story tells us, "God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time" -- I have to agree with him. I am reminded of my meeting with a young White Supremacist turned on-fire Born-Again Christian whom I met at the Riverside County Regional Medical Center ER about fifteen years ago.
He and his family had been devout White Supremacist -- when one day, on the streets of Riverside, California, a Christian walked up to him and shared about Jesus Christ and His wonderful gift. That day, standing on the street of Riverside, that young man turned his life over to Jesus Christ. Yes, if we are willing, God will bring people into our lives -- some to encourage us, others to whom we are to be His witnesses as we share His Gospel.
I pray this story touched you heart also. And that it will encourage you to fulfill your Great Commission ("Go, Make disciples, Baptize them, Teach them. . . be My witnesses in all the world" - Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15) given by our Lord Jesus Christ to ALL believers.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
