When 15-year-old Amanda Jane Cooper saw Wicked on Broadway, she immediately wanted to play the role of Glinda. She enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University to study theatre. Within months of graduating, she won the role of Glinda in the show’s traveling production. Amid phenomenal success, however, she developed an eating disorder, frequently not eating during the day and binge eating alone in the wee hours of the morning. The struggling actress began carelessly sharing her body with strangers, putting herself in extremely dangerous situations. Though applauded by millions, Cooper hated herself.
She eventually moved to Los Angeles, appeared in a movie, and landed guest roles on multiple television shows. However, she soon began comparing herself to others and again felt worthless. A war was going on inside her, and the pain she experienced seemed less frightening than getting help. In her search for worth, success had become her god.
During this period, she remembers attending a Hollywood party where she met Alice Isaac. The struggling actress immediately knew this woman was different. For 45 minutes, she poured out her life story to the stranger. Later Cooper would reflect that Isaac, “loved me back to life… She was my mentor and the hands and feet of this Jesus that I had heard about in my childhood.” Realizing God saw her and knew everything about her but still loved her despite her imperfections, Cooper reflected, “My soul knew this is what I need. I need a Savior… I can’t do it by myself.” Her life changed when she said yes to God and began getting counseling. Her spiritual journey prompted her to commit to saving herself for marriage in the future and to seek help for her eating disorder.
Years later, Cooper again assumed the role of Glinda on a national tour. She played the part for twice as long. The tour returned to several of the same cities where she performed on many of the same stages and even worked with some of the same performers. This time, however, she was confident in her identity as God’s daughter and understood her imperfections did not affect her worth. Cooper became one of the musical’s longest-running Glindas. The play’s producers even asked her to perform in the show’s 15th anniversary production.
None of us is perfect, but each of us can take comfort in God’s love for us. Consider how God describes his commitment to us, “…I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18, NLT) Neither your worth nor mine comes from striving for perfection but from God’s unfailing love for us. Just as Cooper realized that God loves us passionately and treasures us no matter how unworthy we feel, we need to know that he offers us a relationship with him as our father!
