The Pursuit of a Healthy Heart with Charlene Williams

By Cassie Tatum • Photos By Matt Johnson 

We tend to experience time through seasons—Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Louisville native Charlene Williams, more familiarly known as ChaCha, takes those seasons a step further. In her podcast, HealthyHeart ChaCha, a platform dedicated to bolstering Christianity and meditating on God’s Word, Williams predicates her own seasons by tuning into her emotions, assessing where she’s landed in that particular moment. Her unique feeling forms the themes for each month of podcasting. Sometimes she lands in light, sometimes in kindness, sometimes in manifestation. In this season, her eighth, HealthyHeart ChaCha explores newness, the discovery of opportunities and refreshing perspectives that feel heart-opening. 

Despite the season’s theme, ChaCha aims to show the Louisville community and beyond that, in order to have a spiritually healthy heart, we must be reminded of our stewardship to faith and, more importantly, our unity as human beings, no matter our belief system. 

The genesis of HealthyHeart ChaCha began with family. As a mother and grandmother twice over, Williams wished to instill in her kin a sense of hope, a force that’s hard to come by these days. She started writing notes and recording herself, leaving memories for younger generations to cherish. Her family termed the practice “ChaCha Moments,” and those moments transformed from scribbled thoughts and voicemails into a YouTube channel, where Williams took to leaving “memories for the Lord.” Though she attributes her success to a reliance on God, Williams deserves credit for her determination and focused vision. HealthyHeart ChaCha’s mission is simple: “I want people, no matter where they are, to see their significance,” said Williams, and with this public platform, she has the chance to guide her audience, helping others appreciate their own, innate belonging. 

With an emphasis on inclusion and connection, HealthyHeart ChaCha encourages conversations between members of our community and outside of it that nurture generous recognition—not of the physical body, but the spiritual one. Williams isn’t concerned with convincing anyone to observe her particular sector of Christianity. Instead, through dialogue with empowering women like Charity Hammond and conversations with several enlightening Nigerian Pastors, Williams invites her listeners to engage with valuable perspectives that may or may not align with their beliefs, but are sure to inspire their hearts. Her platform holds space for a diverse array of listeners. “Whoever sees it and receives it,” Williams explains, “is my audience.”

On HealthyHeart ChaCha, most episodes begin with a specific question: What is your Heart Smile? Williams defines the Heart Smile as someone’s first remembered moment of pure joy. Though “we’re taught to smile” physiologically, the Heart Smile isn’t learned, but felt. It’s where a healthy heart begins. 

As her podcast grows, Williams aspires to expand her reach, amplify more voices, and offer her wisdom and experience to our community’s youth. Everyone is worthy of a healthy heart, and through HealthyHeart ChaCha, Williams continues to strengthen the hearts of others. Find her videos, live streams, and podcast episodes on her YouTube channel, @healthyheartchacha7251, or visit her website at healthyheartview.com