Bobby LeBlanc's Faith Story

My favorite verse in Scripture is Mark 9:24, which ends with the phrase, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" That pretty well sums up my spiritual journey.

Some people seem to graze through life, look up and suddenly realize that someone or something has had a much more profound impact upon them than they'd thought. My faith journey, like many others, has had its highs and lows. But like many others, it is often looking back that I have truly discovered God in my life. Many people can point to a specific moment, sometimes even a date, when they truly accepted Jesus, when they truly started to believe. I can't do that. I guess I am a little harder to convince than a lot of people, and so it took me several doses of reality to finally see God working in my life and my faith being something more than just an academic exercise, but as part of who I truly am. My salvation came when Christ died for me on the cross, long before I was born. I have been taught this since early years in Catholic schools, but it has taken several trips to rock-bottom, as well as trips to the mountain-top, for me to accept this in my heart.

One of the best descriptions I have found of Christ's relationship with believers, especially that relationship with me, is from a poem called "Footprints in the Sand." The poet looks back on his travels through life and sees two sets of footprints, where he and Jesus have walked side-by-side. But he notices that when times got really tough, there was only one set of footprints in the sand. When he questions Jesus as to why he left, Jesus responds that in those times of need, when there was only one set of footprints, "It was then that I carried you." Lord I believe; help my unbelief!

-Bobby LeBlanc
Has been a STA parishioner and the parish Business Manager for the last 11 years. Before coming to STA, Bobby was a religious Brother for 21 years, as teacher, coach and facilities administrator in Catholic high schools in four states. He also worked for one year in a homeless shelter in Shreveport, Louisiana, overseeing a shelter and managing a soup kitchen that fed 150-250 meals two times a day.