Teen Corner: Someone who can always bring a smile to my face

Published 9:07 pm Sunday, February 2, 2025

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By William Sizemore
Bear Tracks

Around three years ago, I was in a dark place in my life. I was never truly happy, and I began taking it out on those around me. I was on an endless search to fit in, and I was almost willing to do anything to do just that.
If you saw me smiling, it was most likely fake. If you saw me laughing, I was more than likely making fun of somebody else. I was so corrupted by the things that this world called “cool” that I lost sight of what was right, and what was truly missing in my life.
I needed a friend.
In the midst of my corrupt life, and my search to fill the empty void in my heart, I finally met someone who truly made me happy. If you were to ask me, “Did I meet him at a party?” Or, “Did I meet him at school?” Or, “Did I meet him at a store somewhere?”
The answer would be no; but I met him at a church on the side of the road one Friday night in the month of April, in the midst of all my trouble. We had spoken a few times before, but I never got to know him on a personal level until that night.
That night is a night that I hope to never forget, because it is the night that my life finally changed for the better. As the preacher opened the altar at the end of his sermon, I made my way to the altar just like I had done in times past; only this time I was truly tired of the way I was living, and I wanted to change my way of life for the better. As I knelt down to pray, the devil made a last ditch effort to keep me from talking to my new best friend, reminding me of all the so-called “fun” that I used to have. Despite all of that, I had made up my mind. I began to talk to my new best friend for quite some time, and he was listening to me the whole time.
From that night forward he has been there for me through so many things. For example: when I lost my dad, he was right there. When I lost people close to my heart, he was there. When it seemed like nobody cared, he showed me just how much he cared for me. He has been with me every step of the way, even when I have treated him poorly, and sometimes just completely neglected him, he still has always been there. Can I see him with my own eyes? No I can’t; but when I open my heart and mind up to his ways, I can begin to see him in many different ways, and in many different things. I can see him in the trees when they wave back and forth. I can feel him in the wind when it blows. I can see him shining through the stars at night, and through the many wonderful things that his father created.
If you are wondering what his name is, his name is Jesus Christ, and he died on a cross for me, so that when I knelt down at that church on the side of the road in the midst of my trials and tribulations, I would have a way of escape from the life I previously had lived. So when I think of someone who never fails to make me smile, I think of that man that gave his life for a little sinner like me, so that I could go free from the chains and burdens of sin, and that I could have a home waiting for me in his kingdom at the end of this life, if I can endure until the very end.
(William Sizemore is a junior at Harlan County High School)