College Courage

HAPPIEST HEART

written by Sarah Jenkins

A couple of years ago I got a text. It was a simple text, from a girl a little younger than me. The text featured her giving the background of her situation briefly, but then abruptly addressing her true subject, and it caught me off guard.

“Sarah, I don’t know what makes my heart happy.”

As I read those words, I stopped. How could you not know what makes your heart happy? How could you not know what sets your soul on fire? How could you simply not know what you love? And then I realized - you cannot know what makes your heart happy unless you know WHO makes your heart happy, who crafted your heart together in the first place.

I never perceived it to be a complex question because I have always answered it with ease. But I have (pretty much) always had Jesus.

My acquaintance with the word of God is characteristic of a best-friendship - I spend time with it every day and aim to listen to its teachings so I can apply them to my own life. I have a friend in the book who encourages me to live abundantly and fully in John 10:10 and to go reach all the people of the world in Matthew 28:19. My identity is in the one who tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Psalm 139:14, and that I was known even before I was in my mother’s womb in Jeremiah 1:5.

I live by the word of the Lord because I know of the blessings brought by a life with Him.

I know that I will face trials and obstacles, countless problems, and a whole lot of sadness- but I also know the abundant joy that cancels out anything those others will ever cause.

So many don’t understand the whole Jesus thing, and all I can say to them is, “Why don’t you try it out?”

Imagine this. You are sitting in a hospital room and just got the worst news of your life – you’ve learned that you have cancer. It is extremely aggressive and could potentially take your life. BUT, there’s this one treatment. It is widely contested but proven effective to many, AND it’s free!!!! Wouldn’t you go for it?

The answer is yes. Most everyone on the planet would undergo the treatment knowing that it would give them a chance at life without any cost or repercussions.

The same goes for a life with Jesus. We are so worried about what will happen as a result that we are not thinking of the result that it will have in us.

As a glass half full kinda gal, I like to think of what could go right rather than what could go wrong. You don’t have to believe in the beauty and splendor of Heaven, but who wouldn’t want to? You don’t have to believe in a supernatural companion in the Holy Spirit who will guide your decisions and walk with you through each day, but who wouldn’t want to? You don’t have to believe in a savior who forgives ALL sins and shortcomings, but who wouldn’t want to?!?