Alumni Post: Hannah Aycock

I can’t believe that a month ago, I finished my internship with the Wesley Foundation. Looking back on my time with this community, the only words I can think to say are, “What a blessing this place has been for my growth with Christ.” 

Over the course of my college career with the Wesley, I came to an understanding that my spiritual growth is something that’s non-negotiable. It took me many years to truly gain a new perspective of what community is. Before coming to the Wesley, I had a deeply skewed vision of community and saw it to be a sort of social club. This kind of thinking led to spirals of doubt and constantly questioning my self worth. As I wrestled with all of this, through the power of prayer, learning discipline, doing a GOOD BIT of reading, and having other faithful believers around, the Lord changed my heart and my way of thinking.  

After reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer my first time through, I’d like to say that I fully understood the ways we tend to mix things up when it comes to the blessing of community. That wasn’t the case. I’ve now gone through this book many times, and I continue to be enlightened. It wasn’t until the pandemic started that I truly understood what Bonhoeffer meant when he said, “It is easily forgotten that the community of Christians is a gift of grace from the kingdom of God, a gift that can be taken from us any day.” We were all stowed away in our houses separated from our fellow believers, which many of us had never experienced in our lifetime. We all did what we could to stay connected, but it definitely didn’t feel the same. I prayed daily that we all would be able to gather together again soon. Through this time, I learned what it means to be truly thankful for a place such as the Wesley. 

I’ve worshipped in many places in my lifetime, but I’ve never been stretched or grown to the same degree as I have with my Wesley family. The ways the people in this place were and continue to be invested in so many aspects of my life helped me grow the kind of love I show myself, as well. I hadn’t realized before it was brought to my attention by many of my mentors that I didn’t really like who I was and for the longest time thought I was and always would be bad. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, this community dove head first into learning about my life and rejoiced over small or large ways of growth. They encouraged me and challenged me to really see the goodness within myself. 

I can say that since I’ve stepped into a new chapter, my confidence and belief in the kind of love the Lord has for me continues to grow daily. The amount of thankfulness I have for a community like the Wesley and the ways this community tries to emulate the church in Acts has raised the bar for what kind of community I desire to be a part of when I no longer live in such close proximity. I just want to say thank you to the Lord for this blessing! 

Hannah Aycock is a beloved member of the Wesley community who graduated from Louisiana Tech with a degree in business and served as a ministry intern for two years. Hannah is now completing her apprenticeship in Ruston to become a licensed barber and fulfill her longtime dreams of cutting hair and making people feel beautiful and confident!