A perfectionist, a ballet dancer and a Type A personality, Lipscomb sophomore Arden Whitehurst has battled a life-controlling behavior for many years.
A disease that could have wrecked her life is now in the rearview mirror as Whitehurst has transformed it into a ministry.
From a very young age, Whitehurst struggled with people-pleasing and was crippled by the fear of letting people down. As she grew older, the anxiety from the expectations of others began manifesting and she heaped more responsibility on herself.
High school trudged on and anger towards God took root as Whitehurst grasped for control of her life and identity. She had the weight of the world on her shoulders and began looking for an escape.
The young dancer began an innocent diet to slim up and stay healthy, but what started out as harmless soon became a catalyst for harm. She quickly began a downward spiral that she could no longer control.
“I slowly started restricting my food intake and I soon found myself in a dark hole and didn’t know how I got there or how to get out of it,” Whitehurst said.
She was soon diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and severe anxiety. As weeks turned into months, the disease began bleeding into her everyday life.
She was falling behind in school and in dance; her parents began desperately searching for answers. No one in her family knew what to do or how to help, so they sent Whitehurst to Renfrew Center in Dallas, Tex. where she finally began to accept the people who were trying to help her and slowly began to open up to their accountability and support.
“I decided to give my nutritionist and counselor a chance,” Whitehurst said. “It’s not that it ever got easier, but recovery became my job. It became a commitment to getting better.”
After spending a couple months in recovery, Whitehurst returned to her home, but the work was far from over.
While the recovery center assessed her physical health, Whitehurst sought out mentors in experts, friends and loved ones who could help her heal mentally and emotionally from the life-controlling disease.
Through these relationships, she began to learn of the love and grace God showed her and was amazed at the ways in which He continued to provide relationships and resources that brought her healing.
Her senior year in high school, Whitehurst chose to do her senior thesis on Eating Disorder Treatment, which would launch her into the next phase of her story.
Whitehurst came to Lipscomb in fall of 2015 and eventually declared a major in Dietetics with the goal of leading others to freedom from eating disorders through building healthy relationships with food.
As she became more established at Lipscomb, the Lord continued to use her story as a platform for His grace. She recalls that people continued to open up to her about their eating disorder stories, affirming her calling to take action and begin discussions about this taboo topic.
Though resistant to the idea at first, she found herself leading a women’s breakout chapel.
Whitehurst says that the Lord continued to lay 2 Timothy 1:7 on her heart: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
With this confidence, Whitehurst began a women’s breakout chapel and became deeply invested in Lipscomb’s campus ministry.
After spending a semester abroad, the sophomore Dietetics major is back in Nashville and more invested than ever. Although she isn’t in front of hundreds leading chapel, Whitehurst has become rooted in relationships and her studies.
It may not be the most fast-paced, glamorous season of life, but she recognizes the importance of building strong mentoring relationships with incoming freshman girls and is intentional about being there to guide them.
“I view food as the root of the issue,” she said. “If we can change our perspective on food, we can show people that food is a gift from God. He gave us food because He loves us, because it teaches us to rely on Him. If we didn’t rely on food each day, we wouldn’t need God.”