Standing around the piano, singing as if they were also getting ready for the concert were Sallie Martin, Mahalia Jackson, and Rosetta Tharpe. Shar ran over to the women and gave them a big hug. She was so surprised to see them that she could hardly contain herself. “What are you all doing here?”
“You didn’t think we was gon’ let you do this concert by yourself, so you could feel like a big shot, now did ya?” Sallie Martin harassed Shar.
Shar hugged the woman again as she laughed. “I can always trust you to bring me down a peg or two.”
“Or three or four,” Mahalia added with a smile on her face.
Shar turned to the woman she had admired for so many years. She put her hand on Mahalia’s shoulder. “I missed you so much when you left the tour.”
“I know you did. But God took care of you. You’re home safe and sound, and we are going to do this concert so we can raise this money and get our people some better housing.”
“So, are you all really going to sing for the concert tonight?”
Calvin sprang up from the piano. “They sure are. We’ve already picked out the songs.”
Shar turned back to the women who had become more than her rivals while on the road. Today, they were showing themselves to be friends. “What are you all going to sing?”
Sallie had a smirk on her face as she said, “I’m going to take ‘Old Ship of Zion.’ ”
Mahalia said, “Oh, and there’s no need for you to sing ‘Precious Lord,’ because I’m going to take that one.”
Yep, this was like old times. Next she was going to be told that all she was needed for was to sell Mr. Dorsey’s sheet music after the concert. Shar put her hand on her hip and turned to Rosetta.
“Don’t look at me. I’m singing one of my own songs.”
“Calvin?” Shar questioned. “How could you let them come in here and take both of the songs that I’m supposed to sing? I’ve been practicing those songs at home and been praying that I’d get them right.”
“Don’t you worry about it none, Shar Gracey.” Sallie told her. “We picked out another song for you to sing. Something real special.”
“What is it? I came early so I could practice with Calvin. Did you give him the sheet music?” Shar was looking from Sallie to Calvin, waiting on a response.
Finally Calvin said, “I have the sheet music.”
Sallie chimed in, “But we don’t want you to practice it right now. You just continue resting your voice until it’s time to perform it.”
That was outrageous. Sallie always made sure that she had practiced the song before going before a crowd of people to sing it. “But I need to practice before the concert.”
Rosetta stepped forward. She held onto Shar’s hands. “We all know what happened to you out there on the road. I know better’n anybody else what you’re going through. But trust us on this one. You’ll know the song and you’ll sing it better’n it’s ever been sung if you wait on it and allow yourself to just feel it.” Rosetta squeezed her hands before letting go. “Just trust us. Okay?”
Shar nodded. She then sat down on the front pew. “I’ll just sit here and listen why the three of you make sweet, sweet music.”
In his office, Landon scrambled around looking for the note paper he’d jotted some notes down on. He could hardly believe that they’d sold five hundred tickets to tonight’s concert. Nettie’s daddy might be a pain to deal with, but the man certainly knew how to promote an event. If the rest of the week went as well as tonight, then they would certainly have the money needed to help some of the families on the list. Landon wasn’t going to give up though. He wouldn’t stop until everyone who wanted a decent affordable house could get it.
A knock on his door stopped his search. He turned away from his desk and said, “Come in.”
Nettie slowly walked in as if she were marching toward that old rugged cross and wanted the journey to last as long as possible.
“Nettie, just the person that I need. Have you seen my note paper?”
She walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer and pulled out the note paper he’d been working on, and handed it to him.
Smiling, Landon said, “What would I do without you?”
“You don’t need me, Landon.”
Landon shook his head. “This place wouldn’t run as smoothly as it does without you. The best thing that happened to United Worship Center was Nettie Johnson.”
Nettie should have been overjoyed at Landon’s comment, but her face was overcome with sadness. “You might mean that as far as your office goes. But when it comes to the sanctuary and anything else, you’d pick Shar over me any day.”
Landon leaned against his desk as he took Nettie’s words and saw the hurt in her eyes. He didn’t want to lie to Nettie or make her believe in something that would never happen between them, so he simply said, “I’m sorry, Nettie. I’ve tried to be as honest with you as possible.”
She held up a hand. “Stop, Landon. I feel terrible enough as it is.”
He lowered his head and again said, “I’m sorry.”
“And stop saying you’re sorry. I’m the one who owes you an apology.”
Landon was confused by that comment. He lifted his head to look at her and saw that Nettie was in tears. He wanted to go to her and put his arm around her. But his feet wouldn’t move forward. He was so afraid of further damaging their relationship that he didn’t know what to do right now . . . should he be her pastor or her friend? Then Nettie began talking, and his heart sank with the knowledge of what she had done to him and to Shar.
“Do you remember those letters you asked me to mail for you?”
“Yes, of course. You always mail my letters when I don’t have time.”
Her voice caught as she admitted, “I didn’t send them.”
Landon’s brow was up as he asked, “Which letters didn’t you send?”
“The ones you asked me to mail to Shar.” She opened her purse and pulled out several envelopes. “I kept them.”
Landon’s hands went to his mouth. “Oh my Lord,” was all he could say. So much damage had been done to him and to Shar because of those missing letters. Landon was convinced that she wouldn’t have fallen for Nicoli if she had believed that he still loved and cared about what had been concerning her. Now he and Shar just seemed to be two misguided people, holding onto a love they didn’t know what to do with. He took the letters from Nettie.
Now she was the one saying, “I’m sorry,” as she left his office.
Landon sat down behind his desk and cried like a little lost sheep who’d gotten all tangled up in weeds until his Shepherd came and found him and helped him break free. So that he could finally be free to love the only woman who’d ever claimed his heart.
The people were filing into the church in droves. Some came to worship, some came to fellowship with other saints, and some came to see if Shar Gracey had gone out into the world only to lose that beautiful singing voice that the good Lord gave her.
Surrounded by the women who had helped her hone her craft, Shar wasn’t as nervous as she had been throughout the week of rehearsals. She could do this, she could do this, she just kept telling herself. And even if she flopped, no one would complain about the concert, not with Sallie, Mahalia, and Rosetta in the house.
To kick off the event, Landon stood behind the podium, looking as fine as any preacher had ever deemed to look. Shar was so proud of him. He had kept the faith and kept fighting for what he believed in, and now all of these people had turned out. Shar wondered if Landon knew that he was a dreamer just like her. But his dreams were coming true, and Shar couldn’t be happier.
She now knew that Landon and Nettie were only friends, but she didn’t know what that meant for them. She still wondered about those letters and why he hadn’t come to her when she’d needed him most, but she was trying to put that behind her and press on.
Looking down at his notes, Landon began, “I thank each and every one of you who listened
and heard our hearts and decided to join this cause by purchasing a ticket to tonight’s gospel concert.” He looked down at the front row and said, “And I see that we have a few special guests.” He asked Sallie, Mahalia, and Rosetta to stand so they could be acknowledged by the crowd. Everyone began clapping and hootin’ and hollerin’.
“Okay, okay, settle down,” Landon told them as the singers took their seats. He then said, “We also have a special treat for everyone because United Worship Center’s own Shar Gracey is back home where she belongs.” Landon asked Shar to stand from where she was seated in the choir stand. She quickly stood, waved to everyone, and then sat back down.
“Before I turn the microphone over to the choir, I just want to let you all know that this week will not be the end for us, but only the beginning. The Restrictive Covenants will one day be a thing of the past, and our people will be able to live anywhere they choose.” The crowd exploded with applause at those words.
Shar looked around the room. Many people were on their feet, some were crying, others yelling. It seemed that so many people were tired of being forced to live as second-class citizens. Hope sprang up in her heart as she watched her mother and father walk into the church. She’d known that they would most likely be late, if they showed up at all, so she’d asked the usher to save them two seats. As she watched the usher seat her father, she was thankful that she’d agreed to sing and that her father had kept his word.
“Now let the singing begin,” Landon said as he turned the microphone over to Calvin.
Nettie was the first singer up. She sang “Amazing Grace” as tears streamed down her face. Shar lowered her head and prayed for the girl. Nettie had never had a kind word for her, but Shar felt led to pray for her. If others hadn’t prayed for her, who knows where she would be right now.
Sallie was up next. She took the microphone and in normal fashion began telling a story as she sang.
I was standing by the banks of a river
Looking out over life’s troubled seas
When I saw an old ship that was sailing
Is that the old ship of Zion I see
Sallie turned and looked up in the choir stand and said, “Now, Shar, you might have had a little trouble, might have even felt like giving up, but we came here today to let you know that the old ship of Zion is not hardly about to sail without you. You were born to sing God’s praises, and you will soon know it way down deep in your soul.”
Shar’s eyes misted over. She hadn’t known how to take Sallie when they first met, but Shar now could see that the woman’s heart was as big as an ocean. Sallie turned back to the audience, hunched over, and kept on singing.
It’s hull was bent and battered
From the storms of life I could see
Waves were rough but that old ship kept sailing
Is that the old ship of Zion I see
The crowd was on their feet, waving and singing along. Nobody sang “Old Ship of Zion” like Sallie Martin. Shar was grateful that Sallie was here to give that song the extra flair it needed.
Things were moving right along. Rosetta sang, then the choir delivered two selections. After that the deacons passed the collection plate. The people seemed genuinely excited to put their coins and dollar bills into the offering. If things kept going like this throughout the week, Shar was confident that Landon would have the money he needed for the homeownership program.
After the collection plate had been passed, Mahalia stood up and wowed everybody with her rendition of “Precious Lord,” and Shar was once again glad that she hadn’t sung that song tonight. “Precious Lord” would forever belong to Thomas Dorsey and Mahalia Jackson, him for writing it, and her for singing it like nobody else could.
She still didn’t know what song she was supposed to sing. So when it was her turn at the microphone, she stood there, with her eyes closed, praying that she wouldn’t mess up whatever song she was required to sing tonight. “Help me, Lord.”
Calvin struck a few cords on his piano and then began playing the music to “Never Turn Back.” Shar’s eyes sprung open, and she searched until she found Sallie sitting on the front row grinning at her like she’d just been offered a record deal. Shar was confused. She had once begged Sallie for the chance to sing this song. But Sallie had told her that she hadn’t experienced enough of life to even think about such a song. Said there wasn’t enough heartache in her to deliver the song in the way that could touch an audience
As Shar looked at her now, Sallie mouthed the words, “It’s time for you to sing it.”
Shar thought back to the things she’d endured over the last few years, and tears streamed down her face as she realized that although this song wasn’t written for her, it had always been her destiny to sing it . . . to encourage a world of hurting people that they needed to always look to Jesus and never turn back, no matter what. She opened her mouth and began:
I started out for heaven such a long time ago
For the world of temptation made my journey hard and slow
Shar wanted to start talking to the audience like Sallie normally did. But Sallie was the storyteller. She was just a singer, but she was a singer whose voice hadn’t cracked on one note of the song so far. So, she kept on singing, hoping that the words of the song would encourage anyone that might be feeling as low as she had been feeling.
I turned to worldly pleasures, but I only found pain and woe
I’m back on the road to the city, and I’ll never turn back no
more
No, no, no more, no more, no, no more . . .
Back when Shar had first practiced “Never Turn Back,” it had only been a song to her and nothing more. But now, every word she sang became her testimony. The spirit overtook Shar as she began strutting around the church, singing that song like it belonged to her. She put her hand on her hip, let her head swing back, and kept going to town.
Wind may blow, storm may rise
Wind may blow me, Lord, side to side
I’ll never turn back to the city
Shar meant every word she sang. She didn’t care what happened or which way the wind blew, she wasn’t never turning her back on God and His sweet promises ever again.
When the song was finished, the anointing fell over the church while Calvin banged on the piano keys and the guitar player played. The audience from Mahalia, Sallie, Shar’s parents, and all the way in the back of the sanctuary got to shouting. The people were no ways tired and weren’t about to give up on their God or their dreams. Shar could see a change sweeping over the people . . . like the song had helped them believe that them better days Landon preached about were on the horizon. She was believing it herself as she grabbed the microphone and did an encore without even being asked. God was being glorified, and Shar couldn’t stop singing His praises if she wanted to.
Thirty minutes after the church erupted in praise, Landon grabbed the mic and said, “Now let the church say Amen.” He dismissed them.
As the people began filing out, Landon walked over to Marlene and Johnny and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“After that performance, I’m feeling like I’m going to live for a very long time . . . at least long enough to see that little girl of mine sing for the Lord about a hundred more times,” Johnny said.
That declaration from her husband made Marlene smile. “I guess we gon’ carry on then.”
Landon turned and caught a glimpse of Shar. People were coming up to her, shaking her hand and giving her hugs. He was so proud of her . . . and so in love with her. He asked Johnny, “Do you mind if I have a private word with Shar before you all leave?”
Johnny sat back down and pulled Marlene next to him. “I’m done interfering. You go on and talk to that girl. We’ll wait right here.”
Landon walked over to where Shar was standing. He waited for her to finish speaking to a woman who appeared to be just bursting to talk to Shar. When they were finished, he tapped her on the shoulder. Shar turned toward him, a
nd his heart almost stopped at that very moment. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Nothing had changed his mind since that first day he saw her on that stage in the Miss Bronze America pageant. “Can I speak with you in my office? I won’t take up too much of your time.”
“Of course,” Shar said as she followed Landon out of the sanctuary and into his office.
After telling her how much he enjoyed her song, Landon asked Shar to sit down behind his desk.
“But that’s where you sit.”
“I know. But just this one time, I’d like you to sit there.”
“Okay,” Shar said as she walked around the desk and then sat down. She looked up at him, waiting for further instructions.
“I left a few things on my desk that belong to you. I thought it was past time that you received them.”
Shar looked down. She scanned the desk and then put her hands on several envelopes that had her name on them. She saw the addresses of the different towns she’d been in with Thomas Dorsey’s choir. When she looked back up at him, she asked, “You never mailed them?”
“I thought they had been. That’s why when you accused me of not writing to you, I was so confused about the entire matter. But Nettie confessed to me today that she never mailed the letters.”
Anger began rising up in Shar. “Why would she do such a thing?”
“It doesn’t matter, Shar. All that matters to me now is that you read those letters. Would you mind doing that for me?”
How Sweet the Sound Page 23