When I asked God to soften my heart, I felt.

I felt deeper. I felt stronger. I felt everything.

My good moods were better than my best moods, I was much slower to anger, and I got sad... really, really, intensely, sad. You see, when I asked God to soften my heart, I expected zero anger, and immense joy, all the time, but that's not how a softer heart functions.

A softer heart cries. It cries when it's disappointed, it cries when it's injured, it cries when it feels alone. A softer heart is empathetic. It longs to help, it angers when it sees mistreatment, it hurts when others hurt.

These days, it's far too easy to let our hearts harden. We can shut our phones off, we follow and unfollow and block and choose what we see on social media, and watch nothing but Netflix originals. When we do that, though, we're cutting off God. When God softened my heart, it felt easier to choose to only feel the good, and to cut myself off from all the negative stuff that was hurting. But He speaks to us through our hearts, so when we do that, we're plugging in headphones, and drowning out the voice of God.

Yes, a softer heart hurts. But a softer heart also loves. It loves often, it loves unconditionally, it loves everyone. A softer heart celebrates. It celebrates its own success, celebrates others' success, celebrates life. A softer heart takes action. It confronts, it argues, it solves. And a softer heart listens. It listens to understand, it listens to do, it listens and hears so much more.

When God softens your heart, it's not some magical fix to all your problems. When God softens your heart, He's placing you in a healing process, and pulling you closer to Him.