Whitney Hooper
There is healing, redemption, and a greater strength available on the other side of surrender.
“I grew up in a loving, Christian home. My dad is a pastor, and we moved around a lot as he helped bring reconciliation and healing to broken churches. I trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the age of six. Growing up in an environment of broken churches gave me a unique view of the Church, and at times an unhealthy one. I would sustain a lot of deep church hurt over the years that would eventually cause me to walk away from the church in my college years.
“After college and the end of a relationship I thought was headed toward marriage, I moved back to my college town to work for the university. I began attending a small group because I needed friends and one night I found myself driving back from the group when a friend asked me to tell him about my walk with the Lord. I defensively responded, “it’s none of your business, that’s personal.” To which he replied, “is it? Because if you were truly walking with the Lord, you’d be excited to share what He’s doing in your life.”
“In a moment, my heart plummeted. I knew he was right and I was so far off base from pursuing God. I didn’t really know His voice anymore. As I continued to wrestle with that truth, I realized how far I had drifted from the Lord. There was a sweet surrender in that realization and I began seeking the Lord more wholeheartedly again. As I began counseling and working through the hurts I had buried deep within me, my soul was reignited with a passion for the work of the Lord.
“But as my passion was reignited, so was the enemy’s mission to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). As the Lord began an extended season of pruning and refinement in my life, I would experience new and deeper attributes of God but the intensity of trials grew as well.
“In 2022, my idols would begin crumbling, stripping away the areas I had wrongly placed my identity. In 2023, I spent days in the trauma ICU with dear family friends before their daughter passed, a cousin passed just weeks later, and both my parents were diagnosed with cancer. I began to experience a deep crisis of faith because the character of the God I had come to know didn’t align with my view of my circumstances. I couldn’t find the goodness of God in the whirlwind of life and began spiraling as the enemy railed against the character of God.
“It’s truly humbling to realize after all of the years of growth, you can find yourself back at the starting place again, broken and questioning. I turned to familiar coping mechanisms, but my Community Group and friends from the Springs wouldn’t let me stay there. When I wanted to harden my heart, I found a body that was willing to stand in the gap and fight for me.
“I’ve grown to love a short story tucked away in Exodus 17. As an enemy comes against the Israelites, Moses holds God’s staff in his hands through the battle. As his hands are raised, the Israelites experience victory, but when Moses grows tired and his arms slip, the enemy begins to win the battle. Aaron and Hur stand beside Moses and hold his arms steady until the battle is won.
“I started re:generation and the women in my step group stepped up and held my hands steady. They allowed me space to come broken and unprepared and they prayed faithfully. When my spiritual bootstraps snapped under the weight of this crushing season, they propped me up and continually pointed me back to Jesus.
“As I continued to walk in healing, I realized how much I relied on the facade of perfectionism. I seek to give grace to others but I often won’t let my guard down to let other people experience my own weaknesses. I’ve come to realize that God will be in the process of refining us and making all things new until we finally reach Glory. He’s in the business of creating masterpieces to set on display for His glory and often, the most beautiful pieces are the ones beautifully broken and mended by Him.
“If you’re trying to carry the weight of this journey of life all on your own, you will fail. There’s healing, redemption, and a far greater strength available on the other side of surrender. This season wrecked me, but the Springs faithfully loved me, even at my worst. I’ve been part of many churches over the years, healthy and unhealthy alike, but I can say this community is unlike anything I’ve experienced and I’m so incredibly grateful for my family at the Springs!”
“After college and the end of a relationship I thought was headed toward marriage, I moved back to my college town to work for the university. I began attending a small group because I needed friends and one night I found myself driving back from the group when a friend asked me to tell him about my walk with the Lord. I defensively responded, “it’s none of your business, that’s personal.” To which he replied, “is it? Because if you were truly walking with the Lord, you’d be excited to share what He’s doing in your life.”
“In a moment, my heart plummeted. I knew he was right and I was so far off base from pursuing God. I didn’t really know His voice anymore. As I continued to wrestle with that truth, I realized how far I had drifted from the Lord. There was a sweet surrender in that realization and I began seeking the Lord more wholeheartedly again. As I began counseling and working through the hurts I had buried deep within me, my soul was reignited with a passion for the work of the Lord.
“But as my passion was reignited, so was the enemy’s mission to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). As the Lord began an extended season of pruning and refinement in my life, I would experience new and deeper attributes of God but the intensity of trials grew as well.
“In 2022, my idols would begin crumbling, stripping away the areas I had wrongly placed my identity. In 2023, I spent days in the trauma ICU with dear family friends before their daughter passed, a cousin passed just weeks later, and both my parents were diagnosed with cancer. I began to experience a deep crisis of faith because the character of the God I had come to know didn’t align with my view of my circumstances. I couldn’t find the goodness of God in the whirlwind of life and began spiraling as the enemy railed against the character of God.
“It’s truly humbling to realize after all of the years of growth, you can find yourself back at the starting place again, broken and questioning. I turned to familiar coping mechanisms, but my Community Group and friends from the Springs wouldn’t let me stay there. When I wanted to harden my heart, I found a body that was willing to stand in the gap and fight for me.
“I’ve grown to love a short story tucked away in Exodus 17. As an enemy comes against the Israelites, Moses holds God’s staff in his hands through the battle. As his hands are raised, the Israelites experience victory, but when Moses grows tired and his arms slip, the enemy begins to win the battle. Aaron and Hur stand beside Moses and hold his arms steady until the battle is won.
“I started re:generation and the women in my step group stepped up and held my hands steady. They allowed me space to come broken and unprepared and they prayed faithfully. When my spiritual bootstraps snapped under the weight of this crushing season, they propped me up and continually pointed me back to Jesus.
“As I continued to walk in healing, I realized how much I relied on the facade of perfectionism. I seek to give grace to others but I often won’t let my guard down to let other people experience my own weaknesses. I’ve come to realize that God will be in the process of refining us and making all things new until we finally reach Glory. He’s in the business of creating masterpieces to set on display for His glory and often, the most beautiful pieces are the ones beautifully broken and mended by Him.
“If you’re trying to carry the weight of this journey of life all on your own, you will fail. There’s healing, redemption, and a far greater strength available on the other side of surrender. This season wrecked me, but the Springs faithfully loved me, even at my worst. I’ve been part of many churches over the years, healthy and unhealthy alike, but I can say this community is unlike anything I’ve experienced and I’m so incredibly grateful for my family at the Springs!”