MWS Concert

If Praise and Worship is 24/7 in Heaven, as I suspect it is, Jennifer and I will be taking up permanent residence at whatever auditorium, amphitheater, coliseum, outdoor stadium, castle, church, temple, lawn or street corner Michael W. Smith is playing. No need to look elsewhere. We'll be groupies following him around the streets of gold!

We got a treat last night...a touch of Eternity. MWS led a worship service/concert at our church that went on for nearly 3 hours.

If Jennifer's life had a soundtrack, it would be an exclusive collection of MWS tunes. From her earliest recollections of life to the most recent occasions for joy and sorrow, a MWS chorus can ring Truth in her mind. His music and lyrics have calibrated her heart and soul at life's critical junctures. Hearing the tunes, be they two decades old or from a recent album, Jennifer is immediately reminded of His faithfulness and provision throughout her 33 years.

In Jennifer's words, "my life came full circle tonight". You see, not only were 2,700 of us treated to a memorable evening, but Jennifer got to meet MWS face-to-face and verbally express her lifelong appreciation for his ministry to her. However, before getting to that moment, there were some interesting twists and turns.

First, let me set the stage....Since grade school Jennifer has had two childhood heroes/crushes/obsessions/idols/role models. Men that she admired for all the right reasons...proclaimed personal Faith in Christ, excelled in their fields of work (play), and cared about their families foremost. Plus, as a 10-year-old girl, it didn't hurt that both men were "easy on the eyes".

Tommy Herr played 2nd base for the dominate St. Louis Cardinals teams of the 1980's. Jennifer was devastated the 1988 day he was traded to the World Series-rival Twins for T. Brunansky. Fast forward to the early 2000's, we've just been married and Jennifer gets the opportunity to attend an FCA fundraising dinner in St. Louis (we were living in Chicago) where Tommy would be a speaker. Long story short, she gets a chance to visit with him, and he autographed a childhood scrapbook belonging to Jennifer that featured newspaper clippings of himself. I've got to believe that the term "stalker" had to have come to mind while he was signing his name! Nonetheless, Jennifer was beyond elated and emotionally overwhelmed that she'd finally met an icon of her life.

One down...one to go.

Several months ago, I had heard it was possible our church would be hosting MWS for a concert. When I told Jennifer, she lit up like a kid on Christmas. Needless to say, the countdown to February 23rd began weeks ago. When I got home from work last night, Jennifer couldn't wipe the smile off of her face. Upon arriving to church, Jennifer needed to leave an item in a secure place for a friend that would pick it up later. With concert-goers being guided through specific doors, we had to take an unusual route to reach Jennifer's agreed upon drop off spot. As we were walking, I spotted a good friend, Mike, down a long hallway. While I was trying to get his attention by yelling his name and walking closer and closer to him, Jennifer cut down an adjacent hallway. Finally, on the third or fourth try of yelling "Mike", he glanced up at me. Unexpectedly, a second man named Mike responded to my calling...Mike W. Smith. I'm sure my eyes indicated that I was startled as MWS was actually starting to walk towards me because I stood in between him and the stairs that would lead him backstage. I immediately searched the hallway where I'd last seen Jennifer, by now, she was around corner. I couldn't believe it. I was going to meet MWS and Jennifer wasn't. As he walked by and we made eye contact, I greeted him by welcoming him to Greensboro and telling him that we were excited for the show. Off he went. Jennifer had missed her chance. As I reconnected with her moments later, I had to relay what had just happened. Let's just say she was ticked, but her frustration was tempered by the fact that she was getting ready to see him in concert. However, she couldn't believe she'd been merely moments from fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Sidebar...This series of events immediately reminded me of another brush with celebrity I once had. As a young boy, my dad took my brother and me to a Chicago Bulls game during MJ's second season during which he broke his ankle. Perhaps as evidence of how times have changed, fans were allowed to wait in a tunnel beneath the old Chicago Stadium that led the players from their locker room to a private parking lot. The players were forced to knife their way through the congested crowd while obliging autograph requests and photo ops. I can still vividly recall the feeling of being packed like a sardine shoulders-to-hips amongst much taller adults while getting occasional glimpses of giant Bulls players making their way through the crowd (some easier than others). However, everybody was down there for one reason...to see Michael. I remember the congested mob of people suddenly becoming a smashed throng as men in yellow windbreakers began pushing everyone back and away from the door that led to the parking lot. At that moment, Jeff announced to my dad over the noise of the crowd that he had to go to the bathroom. My dad caught the attention of a yellow coat, and we were permitted to step through the line of security. I can still vividly recall two things about that moment: 1) the security guard said "make it quick" and 2) pausing, turning around and watching this huge swarm of people being escorted away from us while we stood alone in this wide-open tunnel. Jeff walked over to the bathroom. My dad must have sensed what was about to happen. The attempt to clear folks out must have been for one reason and one reason alone. I remember my dad urging Jeff to go quickly. Dad and I remained in the hall wondering if we'd catch a glimpse of the phenom that had Chicago abuzz. Sure enough, Jeff took the most unfortunate leak of his life. While in the bathroom, a hobbling, fur-coated, cane-toting Goliath of a man came around the corner. As he approached, "Michael, got time for a picture?" my dad asked as both he and I repeatedly glanced back and forth from MJ to the bathroom door. I can still remember my dad intentionally taking a long time with the camera hoping Jeff would appear. He stalled long enough for MJ to murmur "let's take the picture". Jordan was gone. Jeff never appeared. We had to tell him that he'd missed the reason for our loitering. Cruelly, his need for a bathroom break gave me a life-long treasure of a picture.

Back to the present...After enjoying a wonderful evening of music new and old, I could tell Jennifer was lingering in the sanctuary hoping MWS would appear from backstage given that most of the room had emptied. Meanwhile, it was becoming a later-than-anticipated evening for our sweet high school-aged babysitter. The hand-written, hand-delivered note that Jennifer's dad had passed to MWS for her earlier in the day would have to be sufficient. You see, much like any of us would want to express appreciation to a pastor or teacher or mentor that impacted us for years, Jennifer decided to write MWS a letter on Wednesday night documenting for him how his ministry had impacted her life through thick and thin for more than 25 years. Being "friends of the program" allowed for that letter to be securely delivered. What we didn't yet know was that being "friends of the program" would come in handy once again a few minutes later.

As we walked to our car, Jennifer and I broke down our favorite moments of the evening and gushed about the quality of both the performance and the performer. For being at the top of his field for decades now, MWS is grounded and humble. His next-door-neighbor-like-presence is so very endearing. He comes across as one of us...just with an uncanny talent to write music and articulate life. I think that's why he remains relevant. Besides his obvious ability, people connect with the humanity with which he writes. We got in our car and lined up in the traffic on the road in front of our church. Suddenly, I could feel my phone vibrating. Assuming it was the babysitter wondering where on earth we were, I quickly grabbed it. However, I was wrong. Instead, it had been Jennifer's dad leaving a voicemail just moments before. Hearing only the first couple phrases of the message and with traffic beginning to roll forward, I told Jennifer to "get out". She grabbed her purse and proceeded to do her best Frogger impersonation across the congested road as I frustrated drivers behind us.

After re-parking the car, I found Jennifer backstage with her parents. MWS has been tipped off that it was Donna's birthday. After exiting a private room, he greeted her with a birthday wish. Don then introduced MWS to Jennifer allowing her to briefly articulate what she'd expressed in the note he presumably read later in the evening. As you might expect, he's a rather low-key, "normal" guy that seemed flattered by Jennifer's words of appreciation. Jennifer got her long-awaited moment with him and was elated.

While we walked away with a little extra spring in our steps, the thought crossed my mind that long-awaited moments like this will be normal in Heaven as loved ones greet each other after being separated by earthly death. In my mind, I can picture hugs and kisses being exchanged with a Michael W. Smith soundtrack playing in the background.