I have been a Vocal Music teacher in Oklahoma for 38 years. I love teaching! I have had approximately 5,000 students in my teaching lifetime, and I have appreciated and loved them all. They are treasures in my life that I will never forget.
At the beginning of each school year, I anoint my classroom chairs and say a prayer for every student who will be sitting in that chair during the school year. I believe that God hears my prayers. 1 John 5:15 states,
“And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (KJV).
Students have so many issues affecting their daily lives, and they are looking for answers to all their questions. They are trying to find someone to help them understand all the pressing issues happening to them. As a Conference GM Director and Educator, my heart is deeply moved for these students. I am continually looking for opportunities to witness to my students successfully.
In 2008, I had a student who came to my choir room and told me that she enjoyed being in my varsity choir and enjoyed having me as her choir director. However, she did have a small problem in that I spoke a lot about the Bible and information in it. She informed me that she was an atheist. The Holy Spirit rose within me and I knew that she was NOT an atheist, but that Satan was clouding her vision and causing her to believe his lies. I invited her to bring her lunch and talk. In four weeks, I learned that she had been molested at a young age by a grandparent. She was broken and for years, she lived in that brokenness. I began to gently speak the truth of who God was and who He wanted to be in her life. The atheistic walls started to break down and one day, God delivered her from all of Satan’s lies. She left my room born again! That was a successful witness!
In 2015, I was enjoying my vacation from teaching vocal music at my school in Stilwell, Oklahoma. I had an appointment for my yearly medical checkup. A few days following the appointment, I received a telephone call from my doctor telling me that I would need some further testing. Within a few days, a large mass was discovered in my colon and within a couple of weeks, I was scheduled for major surgery to remove a portion of my colon. I was upset because it meant that I would not be able to attend Power Chicks ’15. So, I decided to send my daughter, Nancy, to the event in my stead. Following the six-hour surgery, I stopped breathing and was placed in ICU. During that evening, everyone at Power Chicks had special prayer for me. She told me that she felt a strong presence of God during the prayer time. I woke up the following morning and was moved to my hospital room. I knew that God was with me. I was told that I was diagnosed with colon cancer. The surgeon said to me that she removed approximately 18 inches of my colon which contained the mass of cancer. But my faith was strong, and I continued to believe that God was with me. I was reminded of how much God loved me and cared for me by a friend’s gift of a sparrow statue. Matthew 6:26 states,
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (NIV).
He cared for me. I then had to endure chemotherapy. I still believed! I was pronounced cancer-free in November of 2015 and four years later, I STILL am cancer free! Throughout this journey, I have had numerous times of successful witnessing to others who are going through this horrible disease.
Successful witnessing, however, is not always verbal. The entire student body at my school has seen me throughout my recovery. Students that are not even in my classroom have noticed my improvement. They can see the physical difference. Students continually ask me, “How do you feel, Mrs. Still?” I always respond with, “I serve a great big God who is my Healer. He has been so good to me. And by the way, I’m CANCER FREE!” I know that they realize that there is a God who is a Healer because they physically see the result.
Lastly, successful witnessing does not always happen instantly. In 2019, a former student attended the church that my husband and I pastor. My daughter invited her to attend church because of a social media post she read, and it stirred her Spirit greatly. This young lady was a former vocal music student that I met in 2005. I taught her for seven consecutive school years. I witness to my students as often as possible, and I look for opportunities to pour Christ and His teachings into their spirits. She graduated in 2012, and I did not see her for seven years. But the Sunday that she attended church was life-changing for her. She made the important decision to receive God’s Plan of Salvation. After the service, she told me that I had always set an example of being a Christian throughout her high school years. She thanked me for setting that example. Successful witnessing can even happen years later.
Whether in the past or the present, successful witnessing is what every Christian should strive to achieve. John 4:35 states, “…Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (KJV). People are watching and waiting for you to present a successful witness. It could lead them to God.
