Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Calm (04/09/26)
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TITLE: Three White Cottages | Previous Challenge Entry
By Joanna Dietz
04/16/26 -
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I grew up with My Heart and My Mind. I guess you could say we were inseparable. Together we attended church, school, and family gatherings. We seemed to agree on everything, from our favorite ice cream flavors to the correct answers in Sunday school. Life was good.
But it didn’t take long to realize that My Heart, My Mind, and I didn’t always agree. I first noticed it when My Mind and My Heart started debating how to use our time. My Heart would show up at my back door, always feeling like watching a movie or playing dollhouse. But invariably, My Mind would be knocking at my front door, saying she just knew we should first read a little in our Bibles and get a bit of exercise before going out to play. Normally, My Heart would put up a little fuss, but soon enough she’d come round. And at the end of the day, we’d all agree that My Mind had been right after all. That is, till the next day, when the drama would repeat itself all over again.
Disagreements between My Heart, My Mind, and I only grew worse. As early as elementary school, My Mind, My Heart and I all started to struggle with doubts of a spiritual nature. But like a simmering pot forgotten on the stove, it wasn’t till my mid-twenties that the bitter brine came boiling over, and I started to seriously wrestle with the doubts that plagued me. Can I trust the Bible? Was I even saved? How can I know?
Questions overwhelmed My Mind, My Heart and I, but My Heart fared the worst. My Mind tried to help us, searching for well-supported facts and clear Bible passages to address our questions. But no matter how many facts she recited or Bible verses she quoted, My Heart would never be convinced or comforted.
And so neither could I. I depended on My Heart, swayed by her genuine but ever-changing emotions. Sometimes, it would seem like My Mind would get through to us, like the sun breaking through the clouds. My Heart and I would dance about, happy and free. But soon, a new doubt would cloud the sky above our cottages, and I’d find My Heart at my back door again, asking, “But what if . . . “
The cycle of sun and clouds repeated itself for years. The grass from My Heart’s cottage door to my back door gradually died away, leaving a well-worn path.
One day, My Mind and I were out front, spending yet another afternoon discussing my doubts. She often said we must rely on facts, not feelings. This was a favorite line of hers. And I thought I lived by it. No one should let her feelings run her life.
But then it hit me: My Heart was running my life. And My Heart was run by her feelings. True, some days she felt more confident in the Bible or her salvation. But those feelings might be based on her latest conversation with My Mind or simply what she ate for supper. And when those feelings vanished, so did all her confidence, no matter if there was a mountain of evidence to the contrary. And I was right behind her, flailing in a stormy sea of doubt.
My Mind sat quietly, letting me process this epiphany. When she finally spoke, all she said was, “Follow me today.”
I can’t pretend life has been perfect since I started listening to My Mind. My Heart still comes banging on my back door. She’s actually there right now. I know she probably won’t ever stop coming. I also know that some days I miserably fail to listen to My Mind. But I think I’m seeing some grass growing over that well-worn path from My Heart’s cottage to my back door. The waves of doubt are not so threatening now. It is when I let My Mind tell me what to believe, say, do and—dare I say it—feel that I can have true peace and calm.
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