Delighting Herself in the Lord: Emma's Story

It was a Baptist church camp in 2017, and Emma was worshiping the Lord as she always had. However, something this night was about to change.

Emma, a Phenix City, Alabama native, grew up Baptist. She was baptized as a Baptist at the age of 7 and always knew who Jesus was. However, she never really understood what it meant to live a life dedicated to the Lord.

“I was taught my whole life about Jesus and went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I thought at the time I was doing what was right, but I didn’t understand what I was doing.”

The pastor called for those who felt they needed to say "Yes" to Jesus to come to the front. Even though Emma felt called by Jesus to come to the front, she was too embarrassed.

However, ever since that night, her life completely changed.

“That night, I dedicated my life to the Lord, and I’ve been there ever since, and I’ve loved every second of it,” Emma said when reflecting on her past.

Emma and Delight

Emma, who is now about to graduate in May with a Bachelor’s in English from Nicholls State University, is a fearless leader of the Delight Ministries chapter at Nicholls, currently serving as the social media manager. Delight Ministries is a non-denominational Christian community for college women at campuses nationwide.

Emma with three other Delight leaders at the Spring 2024 kickoff.

Emma got involved in Delight through an acquaintance in the Fall of 2021. She was asked by her acquaintance to go to Kickoff, which is a Delight event held at the beginning of each semester for returning members to reunite and new members to get to know everyone. Emma enjoyed it thoroughly - so much so that she eventually ended up taking on a leadership position in the organization.

Emma and acquaintances at her first Delight kickoff in Fall 2021.

Becoming a Delight Leader

Not long after being in Delight, she was asked to be one of the Delight leaders. At first, she was very hesitant.

Now, Emma is a confident leader of Delight, and she has inspired plenty of women in the organization.

Learning Other Women's Perspectives on the Bible

Through being involved with Delight, Emma has learned about a variety of Christian denominations. Since Delight is a non-denominational Christian organization, Emma gets to witness first-hand the variety of perspectives on Christian faith.

“I get to learn their [other women’s] perspectives. I get to learn how they read the Bible, and how they interpret the Bible, and I think it’s kinda amazing that we get to have that opportunity,” Emma reflected.

Overall, Emma is a firm believer in the fact that Christian denominations do not necessarily matter, as long as you dedicate your life to the Lord. Someone told her once that as long as you reach the point of salvation, that it does not matter what denomination you are.

Emma's Advice to Women Growing in Their Faith

For Emma, her 3 big aspects of growing in faith are:

• Prayer: Prayer, according to Emma and even with my own personal experiences, is one of the easiest ways to connect to the Lord. Emma suggests to just have a simple conversation with the Lord and tell him everything.

• Worship: Worship is very important to growing in faith because by worshiping the Lord, He sees that we are giving him the glory He deserves (after all, Jesus died on the cross for our sins)! Emma says that by worshiping the Lord, we develop an intimate relationship with Him.

• Scripture: Even though the Lord can speak to us in a variety of ways, like through prayer and worship, scripture teaches us about the Lord and his ways. Emma says that scripture is the easiest way to hear God's voice.

She also advises for women to stay consistent in their journeys with Christ, and one way she suggested to do this is to find like-minded people.

“When you surround yourselves with other believers, there is a different presence in the room," Emma said.

She suggested for college women to find like-minded people by checking out the different Christian organizations on campus. At Nicholls, we have a variety of Christian organizations.

Nicholls has 3 non-denominational Christian organizations including Delight Ministries, Chi Alpha, and the latest addition, Chosen Colonels. Nicholls also has a Catholic group called Colonel Catholics, and the campus even has a Catholic church called St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. For Baptist students, there is a Baptist Collegiate Ministry, or BCM.

To Sum it All Up...

When looking at Emma and the life she leads, it is safe to say that she is an incredible woman fully on fire for the Lord with plenty of love in her heart for others. I have the pleasure of calling her my newfound sister in Christ.

Emma and I after a Delight Bible study.