When I first read this psalm, the line “Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure” really struck me. And I didn’t quite know why at first. I have heard in my many years of attending mass and participating in church activities that God provides us with joy and makes our hearts glad, and I’ve experienced this joy through the Lord. I knew this. However, it wasn’t really a feeling that I had experienced in a while. When I first read this psalm, I found myself at a point in my life where I was busy, tired, and just wasn’t making time for God in the ways that I should. I wasn’t allowing Him the time to provide me with that joy that is found in Him. 

But last weekend, the first public Ora event, Gathering at the Well, took place. At this event, it became quite clear to me why that line in Psalm 16 stood out to me. Taking the time to be there and be impacted by the message being delivered truly made my heart glad. 

As I sat in that room full of amazing women, I was so thankful for the community that God has blessed me with. It was so inspiring to see all of those women praising God together and sharing their witness with each other during small group time. The message that God is greater than our faults and shame, that none of us are perfect nor do we have to be, and that we are in this together was a message that I really needed to be reminded of. It was evident to me after participating in that event that I have so many beautifully faithful women in my life as role models. I am especially thankful for my mother and grandmother, who have given me an example of how to live out my faith as a daughter of God. And although I definitely could do a better job at following their example at times, I truly believe that the reason I have the faith that I do and the reason I am even writing this reflection right now is because of them and the great community of faith around me. 
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We are not alone. We not only have God by our side, but we have community and relationship with each other. It never fails to amaze me how much love and joy I have experienced through community. I pray that we may all turn to each other for strength and to build each other up as children of God, the way that He desires us to. ​

​Megan Noye

Imagine! One day, you’re plowing your fields with a team of oxen, minding your own business, and all of a sudden, up comes Elijah (of all people) who throws his mantle over you and keeps on walking. I would feel a little taken aback! That’s a lot to process… all of a sudden.

As I imagined myself in the place of Elisha, receiving Elijah’s mantle in the field, I initially confronted surprise, honour, excitement — and then fear and doubt crept in. There must be some mistake, I thought.

Doubt and fear are all too real for me, present even in the purpose for my life that God has placed on my heart. I know that in order to be fully who He made me to be, I need to stand firmly in the place where I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is no mistake: God intentionally put His mantle over my shoulders, and He has done the same for every one of us. But how? This is how beautifully God works through His Word. In this simple story, He has demonstrated how we can love like He does; pray and listen, embrace our chosenness, and encourage others in theirs.

Like us, Elijah wasn’t perfect, but he sought to hear God’s voice, and he helped (still helps!) God’s people and in this case Elisha, to hear it too. God’s voice, in the sheer silence (not the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire) speaks and tells us how He loves us, and what we are to do with that Love. By showing us, in His Word, the love and the Spirit by which we all exist, God reminds us of what we are doing here, giving our lives a divine purpose. He throws this mantle — this clothing of our chosenness — around our shoulders, and when we wear it with confidence, and quietly speak His love into the lives of others, we can do a lot to reassure them that they too, are chosen for a time and a place such as this.