Thursday, May 6, 2010

From the "Life on the Road" Department


I had to travel all the way to Indiana for this story.

Way back in October, 1983 I was touring churches and Christian coffeehouses all over the place, trying to make a living. One evening, I was booked at a coffeehouse in Indianapolis. More than likely it was called The Lighthouse or The Upper Room- they all were. The place was a mess: buckets catching water dripping from the ceiling, the place wasn’t well lit, I was worn out from the traveling, and my host wasn’t there- that happened a lot.

Well, I did two sets of music that lasted an excruciating hour and a half. When I finished and was packing up, a young man who had sat in the back the whole night, came up to me. He said, “Man, that was great. God really blessed me. I had a hard day at work and that was just what I needed.” I think I had the presence of mind to thank him and shake his hand, but I distinctly remember thinking “Brother, if that’s what you needed, you DID have a hard day at work.”

Lesson learned: you never know who’s listening or how it will affect them, so always play your best.

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