Love Never Fails: The Time I Met Brandon Heath

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Seven years ago I worked at one of the largest Christian bookstores in Florida. It was privately owned and it was one the best jobs I’ve ever had.

Because it was a Christian bookstore, we had a lot of customers who we’d get to know pretty well. Some people came in everyday to eat at the cafe, some people came in just to talk to someone because they were lonely, and many had stories to share.

One such customer has stuck in my mind more than anyone else. It probably was because it was the day that Brandon Heath was coming to sing at the store. Now, if you don’t know anything about Brandon Heath, he is a Christian contemporary singer and songwriter and he writes some of the most beautiful songs.

I was working in the music section that day just doing the usual. I put out new music, organized the CDs, and helped customers. Then this man came in. He seemed to be looking for something in particular, so I went over to see if I could help him.

He told me that his wife had recently died and he was looking for something special to play at her funeral. I helped him search for something appropriate and when I turned around he had tears in his eyes. He started to tell me about their life together, and what his wife was like. He told me how he felt so alone now and how he wasn’t sure where his life would go now that she was gone.

We talked for over an hour and I tried to encourage him as best I could. I could see that he just needed someone to talk to. He was hurting.

After he left, it was my turn to work lunch in the cafe. We were expecting some big crowds since Brandon Heath was coming and extra help was going to be needed.

The crowds started to come in and the store was packed full, but Brandon Heath was late. No one was sure what was going on except that someone had seen he was talking to someone outside the store. Everyone waited and waited and finally about 45 minutes later than he was supposed to go on, Brandon Heath started.

He apologized for being late, and started to explain why. As he was coming into the store, the man who had recently lost his wife had been walking out. He had stopped to talk with him, hear his story, and encourage him.

Then Brandon Heath started to tell the same story that the man had told me earlier that morning. How the his wife had died, how they had been married so many years, and how he didn’t know what he was going to do next.

Most of the crowd was in tears that day, but especially me. I could not believe that Brandon Heath had stopped and taken time out of his day to help this man, even when it meant being late to his own show. I cried for the man who had lost his wife and I cried for the incredible love that was shown to him that day.

Brandon Heath went on to say that he usually didn’t start with this particular song, but today in honor of that man and his wife he would sing this song:

Brandon Heath: Love Never Fails