A Year in Reflection

John 1.1-18 of Thursday December 31, 2020

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who has made him known.
​

---

This has been a year when darkness has surely touched every living soul. We have been twisted, pushed, pressed, and folded into circumstances we never could have predicted. And how, sisters, did we respond? At times, I’m sure, we broke; cried out in anger and defeat. Other times, we retreated in quiet isolation and loneliness. But for us — for we who believe — this is not the final response. We know Him who is the Beginning and the End. We know the Light who shines in the darkness. And this year, we witnessed His Light shining all around and within us in the most uncertain of times.


One of the many ways you pivoted and turned your faces toward Him was by gathering as a community in prayer through the Gathering at the Well. You took a leap of faith and allowed yourselves to be contained in little boxes on a computer screen in an effort to share the Hope that lives in your hearts. What we learned through this experience was that though we were physically contained, the Holy Trinity cannot and will not be contained. He moved through each of you to spread Light, Love, and Hope like a divine contagion! For this, we are so deeply thankful to you.


At our most recent Ora Leadership meeting, we reflected on our “words of the year” which we prayed about and received at the first Gathering at the Well of 2020. We talked about how these words ebbed and flowed through the peaks and valleys of 2020, and how they cemented themselves within our hearts as beacons of Light growing within us. One team member expressed how her word moved her to operate out of a place of “exultation rather than expectation”.  What joy! What hope! What grace!


And now, we want to hear from you. What was your word of the year? Did its original meaning hold up, or did it mean new things to you as the year played out? How has your word been a beacon of light in 2020? Click on the “Comments” button below to enlighten us with what God has done in you this year.

Thank you for your faithfulness to Him and to your sisters in Christ through this ministry. We are so grateful for your companionship on this pilgrimage. May His favour be upon you in the coming year, and please join us at the next Gathering at the Well on January 23rd, when we will pray about what God has for us as we embark on new adventures in 2021!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


With love and prayer,

The Ora Leadership Team
(Lori, Lindsay, Tanya, Maxine, Sandy, Patty, Lorrie, Karen, and Noreen)

---