There's A Story in Every Seat

There’s A Story in Every Seat

By

Stacy Leicht

Good morning y’all. I’m Stacy Leicht. I was raised just across the bridge in Michigan but high-tailed it to warmer weather, so now I live in North Carolina.

I was so excited when Pastor Jenn asked me to speak with you today because I’ve gone through some difficult times in my life, and I want to share how God has always helped me through them.

As a seven-year-old child walking on my way to a neighborhood pool, I stepped in hot tar. The tar had just been poured, and there was no signage around to indicate a safety hazard. There were no construction workers present, so I walked through what looked like a hardened sidewalk, only to find myself sinking into the sizzling hot liquid.

There really are no words to describe the pain that I felt at that time. But God allows our bodies to go into shock for a reason. The clock was ticking in order to get me to the hospital, and I remember seeing the looks on the people around me and being more scared of what they knew than what was happening to me. As a seven-year-old, my fears of what would happen to me were out of control. The next few hours, days, and months turned into an internal battle of fear and anxiety. I couldn’t control how my body would repair itself. But God knew.

I spent months in bed, hoping my feet would heal. I remember the dreams I would have at nighttime as I tried to close my eyes, and all I could see was the tar. All I could hear was my own voice screaming. I would wake up in night sweats, with fears I would never be like the other kids in my neighborhood.

I remember watching my parents model how prayer was to be done as a Christian. They never stopped praying for me, my pain, and my patience as I was healing from my injuries. At that time, I didn’t realize how important it was to see my parents live out their trust in God. I was so caught up in wondering why this happened to me I couldn’t focus on the positive that I would walk again.

Now, as you can see, I am here with you today. I am not standing or walking because we are on zoom, but God gave me the ability to do both things and more. So, God healed me in the most incredible way. It took months, but God healed my little feet and gave me the ability to walk and run like all of the other children. In fact, the only lasting effect of the accident is that my feet get shiny when they are wet.

However, I cannot pretend to say I learned to trust God fully during that traumatic event in my life. I was young and had so much to learn about trusting our God. So, years later, God allowed me to go through another difficult situation, but this time, it was an emotionally traumatic event that caused me to see God’s faithfulness.

You see, seven years ago, when I was a teacher, I had a Parent-Teacher Open House for my 6th graders. It was then I met my stalker.

You may not have had a stalker in your life, but I bet you’ve had something derail your life: such as a sick parent, a lost job, a difficult marriage, or a diagnosis that you weren’t expecting. We have all gone through difficult things. Look around you; There’s A Story in Every Seat in this church. Each of you has a different background that makes you who you are. Your life may have been filled with hard work, passion, hardships, trauma, exceeding joy, or perhaps all of those things.

Ask yourself this question… Do you know God’s purpose in your life? I’ll give you a minute to think about that. Some of you may have known your purpose for years, while others of you may still be searching. One reason people struggle to find their purpose is they start with themselves. They think, what do I want to do with my life? Who am I? Do I matter? Job 12:10 says, “It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in His power.” Do you think God created us to live on earth with or without a purpose?

As a young girl, I grew up in church and had a wonderful Christian family. In fact, for generations on both sides of my family, we can trace all of the Christians. When I was 13 years old at a Christian youth camp, I became a Christian. I did all the “right” things and acted the “right” way, yet I was in a lukewarm relationship with my God. I wasn’t in the word each day, I didn’t go to God in prayer daily, and truthfully, life was going well, so I kept on…

As I grew older and attended college, I just knew I was meant to be a teacher. I felt God had called me to work with children, especially in public schools, so that I could be a “light” to those around me. I taught children for years, and I know that I’ve made an impact on many of them, but what I didn’t realize was God had additional plans for me that included using my teaching skills.

Until that fateful day when one of my 6th-grade boys returned to class after being out for over a week when he arrived at my door that day, I was happy to see him and greeted him by saying hello and patting him lightly on his back as he walked past me. I saw him move his shoulder away from me but thought he was a “typical 6th-grade boy” who didn’t want to be given too much attention by his teacher. Throughout the hour of teaching, I took note that he was acting strangely. During most of my lessons, he was the first to raise his hand and almost always had the correct answer. He was an excited learner, an avid reader, and a well-behaved young man. I enjoyed having him daily in class. But, on that day, my sweet student was quiet. He didn’t raise his hand to answer my questions and kept his head down low as if he was sad. I had taken note of him pulling away from my gentle touch and decided to keep a close eye on him. At the end of the lesson, the students filed in a line to go to the math classroom next door. I noticed my student had held back and was waiting to speak to me. He asked, ‘May I talk to you a minute?” I nodded and asked him to tell me what was on his mind. He began to tell me about some abuse that had happened at the hands of one of his parents. I tried to keep myself from getting emotional and remembered this was the time to be professional. After listening to the whole story, I told the student I remember it was my duty to share the information with the Principal, the Counselor, and Children’s Protective Services. He nodded as he looked under his overgrown hair giving me permission.

I followed through with my duty as a teacher. It was one of the most challenging things I’d ever done, but I knew I had to protect this innocent child. I had taken an oath, and I took that oath seriously. After Child Protective Services made their visit, the mother asked the child who he had spoken to at school, and it was then that my name was spoken.

A few days later, I woke up to see a blue car sitting outside my house. I peeked from behind the curtain, only to realize I was looking directly at my student’s parent. My stomach fell down to my toes. I waited to see if the parent was going to come up to my door, but they continued to sit in the car staring straight at my home. My heart was pounding out of my chest. My breathing became labored, and I realized I had an anxiety attack. I looked back outside. The car was still there.

Imagine having someone follow you to the grocery store, follow your son to school, watch your every move, and sit outside your home. I began to have unbearable fear and anxiety that overwhelmed my days and nights. Then the parent started texting me. I couldn’t go anywhere without worrying about my safety and the safety of my family. Unfortunately, it all kept escalating. I wondered what the outcome would be and imagined the worst. I had watched too many mystery movies in my lifetime, and I could easily see myself as the main character.

I spent countless nights worrying about the student in my classroom and the future actions of the parent towards my family and me. It became exhausting!

My sweet husband did everything in his power to make me feel safe. We added a home-alarm system, and over the long months of these occurrences, he was a solid rock giving me security.

But I tried to control it myself and found out it was impossible to control the thoughts and actions of another person. It was at my very lowest when I had to turn to God. After many nights of no sleep and my imagination running wild, I begged God to take my fear and anxiety away. To allow me to live for him without fear. I had no more strength within me; it could only be God who could fix this unimaginable problem. It wasn’t immediate, but the more I prayed, the more I felt God was in control.

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.”

God gave us a verse that gives us a step-by-step plan to replace worrying with a wealth of joy.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thankfulness, give your requests.”

So, let’s consider the verbs in the sentence:

By prayer- God desires for us to go to him in prayer when we are worried or anxious. But, more than that, God wants us to have a relationship with him through prayer. Just for one moment, think about the person you talk to most on the phone or text. Who is it? Now imagine you can’t do that ever again, or you’re only given limited opportunities to talk to that person you so dearly love. Don’t you think the God of the universe, who knew you before you were born, wants to hear from you in that way? Prayer is simply a conversation with our God.

By Petition- Let’s define petition first. A petition is a formal request for something written or said in a humble and respectful manner. So, while we are having a conversation with God, we are to petition him with our requests respectfully. In my case, I was terrified of someone hurting my family or me. Therefore, when I petitioned God, I respectfully requested him to care of us.

Thankfulness- Gratitude is our way of showing our freedom that comes from God and God alone. Consider this, when we are actively being thankful, it takes our mind off of our difficulties and reminds us of the attributes of God.

And finally, give your Requests to God- Share your prayer requests to believers so they can join with you in your petition. This does not mean to have a flashing sign at the busiest cross street downtown with your prayer request emblazoned on it. It means, gather your closest prayer warrior friends and sincerely pray together because Matthew 18:20 says, “When two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Today we have a group of people here that love God and have special spoken and unspoken prayer requests. Imagine the power we could have if we sincerely prayed for one another today. Before you leave this building today, if you have a request, please do not leave without asking a brother or sister in Christ to pray with you and for you. That is what the body of Christ is about.

Does your story keep you up at night? Do you wonder why you’ve gone through tough things in your life?

Is it possible God is using that story to share his message with those around you?

Psalm 107:2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.”

Think about all the times in the Bible where someone tells a story, and it impacts others for good.

For example, in the book of Luke, when Jesus is resurrected, they realize the stone was rolled away, and Jesus is no longer in the tomb; what did Mary and Mary Magdalene do? They told the apostles. (They told the story)

And when Peter went to the empty tomb and saw that Jesus’ body was no longer there, what did he do? He left marveling at what had happened and told others.

Do you hear the pattern? When Jesus does miraculous things, we are to tell others.

Don’t get me wrong, it took me a while to digest what God wanted me to do, but over time I realized God was asking me to be a fisher of men.

God gives us gifts and passions. My passion and skills are in teaching, writing, and speaking. Therefore, God showed me just how I could use those gifts without fear and anxiety!

God is asking us to be Bold and Courageous. It is there we will find the joy in serving Him.

I know my Canadian friends here are hockey fans, right? I am too. Now don’t boo, but I grew up being a Red Wings fan since I grew up north of Detroit. This passion for the game of hockey ran deep in the veins of my family because my father would create an ice rink in our backyard every winter for us to skate on. The strong love of hockey was delivered in utero to my son, and at the age of three years old he could only be potty trained by buying him a “real” hockey stick. But I am proud to say his love of hockey is still engrained deep in his heart! But one of my favorite things my son ever said was on our way to an early morning hockey practice. He was the goalie, so you know we had to go earlier than everyone else. As the sun was beginning to peak up over the clouds, I started noticing the most vibrant shades of pink, purple, and orange mixing together. As a mom, I did the “Mom thing,” where I pointed out the beautiful things around me. Most of the time, my son was not too enamored with the flowers or leaves I pointed out, but this particular morning, he looked deeply at the sunrise and gave God the credit by saying,” Good One, God.” I’m sure you can imagine, my mama’s heart swelled up, and I became emotional. I repeated those words and allowed them to marinade. As time marched on, our family would say the phrase Good One, God when they saw the beauty of God’s creation in nature, or someone got an A on a chemistry test, but each time it delighted my heart to hear my family give God credit. I felt it was such a simple but powerful phrase that could easily be adopted by anyone who loved God.

So, I wrote a Christian children’s book called Good One, God. The book has beautiful watercolor illustrations, and it encourages children to see the beauty in the world around them. It also encourages an appreciation for strong relationships between grandparents and grandchildren.

You see, that simple story of driving in the car with my son became a message. Your story can also become a message to others. It doesn’t mean you have to write a book or speak in front of a church, but it gives you an opening and connection to share Christ with others.

So, what is your story in your seat? What one impactful thing have you lived through that became a catalyst in your Christian life? Or are you still wondering what purpose God has for you? Be still and know that God has a plan for your life. Your story has a beginning, middle, and ending. It’s up to you to make sure you are giving God the glory during the whole manuscript of your life!

Let’s Pray… God, you are the author of our lives. You know the beginning, middle, and end. I pray that you show us our God-given purpose to reach other men and women around us and be a witness of your love. I pray, Lord, you give us opportunities to learn others’ stories, and we become listeners of the people you put in our lives. -- Amen