Short Story

The Scent of Coffee, The Sound of Music, and a Slice of Eternity

By Shanti Thomas, PhD, MNU professor of English

That Monday evening, Sophie was on duty at the checkout counter in Mabee library. The capturing aroma of fresh Columbian coffee from the Coffee Shelf was so luring that it would arrest the taste buds of any visitor beckoning him or her to linger longer than intended. I had gone to the library with the sole purpose of borrowing Dostoevsky’s Crime and James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans. Sophie scanned the books while we chatted, as was usual whenever  our paths crossed.  This time we spoke of the amazing presence of a Creator God who had recently been capturing both our lives more than ever, and it was an exhilarating conversation. As I walked out of the library towards the parking lot at Smith, nothing was more refreshing than the still fresh scent of coffee, except for a mysteriously sweet spirit that pervaded my thoughts. Then as if to affirm all that preoccupied my spirit, the sound of music from Weatherby chapel swept me into the recesses of my memory, to those moments in the past when the physically unseen yet incredible presence of God had captivated and revived my brokenness leaving me with a desire and urgency to see Him and experience Him in every way possible. Yes, God intervenes in the lives of men and women, sometimes in ways that cannot be fathomed. Could this be one such intervention helping me see a slice of Eternity? I wondered!

Walking past the buildings on either side of the still green lawns, grass waving in the evening breeze, the bright colors across the horizon enchanted me. It was as if nature was involved in a synchronized performance with the rippling music that poured from the chapel. A myriad of thoughts rushed to mind while I rolled down my car window to listen to the music reverberating across the campus and into the streets. For a few moments I was captivated by an amazing presence, a few intimate moments, which surpass description entirely. Suddenly panic gripped my heart: Who was I to deserve His voice? In reply God spoke, “I am right here with you.” I sat in the driver’s seat waiting for the music to end before heading home, and recalled another recent encounter when God’s unseen presence captured me in a rather strange manner, but I reserve that unique and amazing experience for another story. While turning on the ignition, I continued to listen to the music from Weatherby:

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you.

I pulled into the street, humbled and satisfied—yet discontent. Satisfied knowing that such a great God, the Creator of this grand and vast universe, whose love or ways I cannot fully fathom, understands the deepest yearnings of the human heart and reveals slices of His glory to very ordinary individuals like me, and discontent wanting to have more of Him because nothing or no one else in this whole wide world can ever bring meaning and purpose to everyday life. The sound of music from Weatherby became more alive as it continued:

And He walks with me and He talks with me/And He tells me I am His own/And the joy we share as we tarry there/ None other has ever known.

 The sun’s brilliant, colorful radiance stretched across the western   sky as though a weaver had spread out his newly woven tapestry. From the library to my car, I had experienced a slice of eternity in a strange but simple and serene way. Now I was headed home with a comforting confidence, still relishing the fragrance of fresh coffee and meditating on the songs that pointed me to an omnipotent, loving God in whom we “live and move and have our being.” Driving towards home I could still sense the ripple of the fading music from the chapel:

This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair; In the rustling grass I hear Him pass; He speaks to me everywhere.

Already across the threshold of yet another academic year, I invite you to listen to the voice of God and be sensitive to His amazing presence here on campus. This is a sacred place where God dwells; after all, if God spoke to Moses from a burning bush in the desert, He has been speaking and will continue to speak in a place built for His glory. This is a place where many times I have personally experienced God during solitary moments as well as in the company of peers and students. Perhaps this is a place where you have come by choice, by calling, by recommendation, or even for lack of another alternative. What-ever that reason, you are here because God wants to use you—your education, work, service, or talents—as a means to deeper spiritual perspectives and purposeful lives pointing to the eternal future. Of course, many others that you and I know are assigned or called to other places for reasons we do not know, yet they too will experience the light of His presence in ways that He has planned—as the reminder came from Weatherby:

This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong/ God is the ruler yet.

Be sensitive to His voice, and He will speak to you wherever you are. His presence is here on campus!  He is everywhere! This place is crowded with God! You don’t need to be smart and extraordinary for Him to speak to you. And if you think your life is weighed down by some dark spot or worthless care, set it aside, so you can hear His voice that is gentle and loving:

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

His voice—the sound of music!