Susan High
When Susan High first felt a nudge in her spirit, she had no idea all that the Lord had in store.
It was 2003, and she was driving to pick up her daughter from band camp. “All of a sudden, I’m praying and crying over women that work in strip clubs,” she remembers. “They hadn’t been on my radar, I didn’t know any of those ladies, and I was like, ‘Jesus, what was that all about?’”
Her question, however, was met with quiet.
Several months later, High and two of her friends, Madonna Hines and Christine Hall, unexpectedly got tickets to a sold-out event hosted by Beth Moore in Atlanta. At the event, a group of women danced onstage to a song called “Shackles.” After their performance, High was sitting by herself when she looked up to see, in the midst of a sea of 20,000 women, her friend Brenda from Wellford, South Carolina.
“I went up to her and learned that she was her church’s representative to Wellspring Living. All I knew about the women who had danced onstage was that they were somehow connected to Wellspring, so I asked Brenda if they were starting a dance ministry. Brenda said no — the women who had danced onstage used to dance in strip clubs, and now were dancing for the Lord.”
“I went back to my seat and started crying,” remembers High, “and I said, ‘Okay, Lord. If that’s why you put that prayer on my heart and gave me this seat in this audience, I don’t know what exactly you’re asking me, but I’ll say yes.’”
For several years, High worked alongside friends and loved ones to discern what the ministry she was called to would look like. They traveled back and forth between the Upstate and Atlanta, meeting with and learning from Wellspring’s leadership.
“We thought we were going to be a residential program, but on one of the trips to Atlanta, the Lord said very clearly, “Y’all are not going to look like their ministry, and their healing will come quickly,” says High. “Then on another trip, He said, “You are not going to heal them. You’re just simply going to bring them to Me.”
So, in 2010, the first Wellspring Treasures Thrift Store was opened. Over the past sixteen years, it has gone on to provide support to individuals and organizations all across Spartanburg — as local Nancy Bernard says, you would be hard-pressed to find a charity in town that hasn’t been touched by Wellspring Treasures.
Since the earliest days of its inception, Wellspring Treasures has grown and blossomed beautifully, becoming a source of community, generosity, and hope. 40 volunteers pour into the shop — but Wellspring Treasures is more than just a thrift store. It’s a respite away from the hardships and hurt of life, a place where anyone can be prayed over and know they’re cared for.
In the first years of the thrift store, the board made the decision to tithe 10% of the store’s earnings. “Over the time that we have tithed, we have given away over $166,000 to other ministries in Spartanburg county,” says High. “It’s been an honor to be here.”
In addition to tithing, the profits of Wellspring Treasures fund The Wellhouse, a forgiveness ministry. The heart of the ministry includes, but is not limited to, women who were sexually abused as children. “We’re not counselors,” says High. “We don’t have the alphabet behind our names. But the beauty of what takes place in our ministry is that whoever we’re sitting with, they don’t have to divulge anything to us, because the Lord already knows everything they’ve been through to a greater degree than even they know.”
In the early days of The Wellhouse’s ministry, Madonna Hines would meet with women everywhere from in the store to in her car. Hines and High looked for places that the ministry could build a permanent home, until one day they heard about a little house at a wonderful price. “It’s one of those stories where you still have to pinch yourself and say, ‘Lord, how did we get here? How did you make it possible for us to be able to do what we’ve done? The only answer is because He is who He is. We paid cash, and the thrift store provides us with everything we need’”
This spirit of awe is evident as High shares story after story of ways the Lord’s provision has been shown through Wellspring Treasures — from opportunities to provide financial support at exactly the right time to exactly the right person, to moments when someone called with a need only for that exact solution to come through the front door of Wellspring Treasures the very next day.
“Seeing God provide what anybody needs and being able to give it away is amazing,” says High. “I tell the ladies all the time, I’m not your boss, you’re working for the Lord, and if the Holy Spirit says give it away, give it away. That’s my favorite part of what I get to do — seeing the Lord’s faithfulness be so magnified.”
For those interested in connecting with Wellspring Treasures or The Wellhouse, you can visit their website at https://www.wellspringsc.org/.
