What Makes Me Better

I remember the day. It was the day I knew I loved Steve and he was my forever man.

We were in college. He was walking me from his fraternity house to my apartment. We stopped at my mailbox to pick up my mail. We were laughing and being silly. It was just one of those joyous days.

I inserted the key to unlock the box when Steve stopped me. He looked me in the eyes and very seriously said, “Susan, when I am with you, I am better. You just make me better.”

I’m pretty sure I had already told Steve I loved him several times before. But in that moment, I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, I was in love with him. I knew his words were true because the same was true for me. Steve made me better, too.

When I was thirteen I had an experience with Jesus similar to the one that happened at the mailbox with Steve. Even though I was nine when I asked Jesus to come live in my heart, it wouldn’t be until four years later that I knew I loved Jesus wholeheartedly.

Our family was taking a vacation in our RV. My sister and I were in the very back and as we bumped down the highway, I asked my sister, “Mary, what does it really mean for Jesus to live in my heart?” My sister is four years older than me and I believed she knew the answer to all things.

“It means that when you were nine, you asked Jesus to be your Savior so you could live a full life with him here on earth and one day be reunited with him in heaven.” My sister went on to say, “But, Susan, to really be in love with Jesus and to follow him, he must not only be your Savior, but he must be sovereign in your life. Everything you do and say must be filtered through him because he loves you and knows what’s best for you. This is how you live a long and full life with him.”

All these years later, Jesus is still both a savior to me and sovereign over me. Because of this, I believe Jesus makes me better. Following and trusting Jesus makes me a better wife, mom, sister, friend. Hanging out with Jesus helps me look more like him. And I think this makes me a better Susan.

Your relationship with Jesus tells your story of how you do the journey. You can choose to trust him and follow him wholeheartedly, even if life doesn’t turn out as you planned.

You can be sure this is true because Jesus says, “My purpose is to give (you) a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). He wants you to wake up each morning and know he’s joining you in all the moments of your day.

This is what makes life wild and wonderful: seeing your story unfold as you live each day with Jesus.