Eleisha is a mum of three teenagers and she’s attended OneLove for the past two years! She calls it the highlight of her year, and shares why it’s important to step away from the busyness of life and refocus on Jesus with sisters in Christ.
1. Please introduce yourself and how many times you’ve attended OneLove!
My name is Eleisha, I attend Horizon Church Canberra. During the day, I look after the operations of a large Christian School—which I love! I’m the mum to three teenage boys, so I spend the rest of my time Uber-driving my children around to their various sports, music and school activities.
I’ve attended OneLove the last two years and it’s a highlight of my year!
2. Are you attending OneLove this year? What are you looking forward to the most?
I’m definitely attending OneLove this year! I love getting together with many of the women from my church, to meet with so many of my sisters in Christ, to draw away from the craziness of normal life, to lift our eyes and set our minds on Jesus together!
3. What was a highlight or moment from OneLove that really stuck with you?
A real highlight for me was hearing the stories of other women and how God has been working in their life. I was particularly encouraged hearing Yunita’s story last year and her journey of loving and caring for her son with a range of additional needs.
She reminded us of God’s sovereignty and his control of our situations. Even when things feel too much, we can trust in the God who cares deeply about us and he will provide—even in ways we might not expect, for His glory. God’s grace is at work in our stories and we can find joy in Him.
Even when things feel too much, we can trust in the God who cares deeply about us and he will provide—even in ways we might not expect, for His glory.
4. Was there a particular talk or speaker that encouraged or challenged you? How so?
One of Jackie Hill Perry’s talks (2023) was on Genesis 16:1-15. At one point in her talk, she spoke about Hagar. She described Hagar’s situation, her pain— too much for her to hold, flees to the wilderness.
God seeks out Hagar. God sees Hagar. He names her. He invites her into conversation. It shows how God desires to engage with us, even in suffering.
Our vision of God and who He is can be influenced by our suffering. At the time, I had recently had to leave an abusive relationship with my three boys. After many years of abuse, I was so broken. My pain was a tool that I was using to understand who God was. I was struggling with doubt. I remember really grappling with how a good God could have seen my pain, the abuse I had experienced, and still be trustworthy? Our pain can tell us that God doesn’t care. That God doesn’t know and that God doesn’t see us.
Instead, I was challenged to understand and know God through the lens of the cross.
Instead, I was challenged to understand and know God through the lens of the cross. Like Hagar, He sees us, He knows us and He loves us. Everything we have had to endure cannot determine how God feels about us. At the cross, we see the Lord, gracious and compassionate, suffering. Being abused, He had to endure. He went to the cross out of love—because He sees the pain in this world. He came to conquer sin and death. He does not leave us alone in our suffering.
Jackie reminded us that suffering in God’s hands is redemptive and does not have the power to keep us from God as long as Jesus has risen from the dead!
I can be tempted to look at my suffering as a lens to understand God, but Jackie really challenged me instead to look at the cross and see God’s love for the world He came to redeem.
He went to the cross out of love—because He sees the pain in this world. He came to conquer sin and death. He does not leave us alone in our suffering.
5. How did you see God at work during your time at OneLove?
I had a deep sense of God’s care for me. That He sees me and knows me. That He is trustworthy and my continual need to surrender my life to him. I loved that there was opportunity to share what we were being challenged with during the day. I had travelled to Sydney with a group of women from my church. The car trip home was an amazing time of sharing deeply with each other. Hearing how God was working in each of our lives really grew the depth of our relationships with each other. It also gave us opportunities over the next months to check in with each other and continue to pray for each other.
6. What would you say to someone considering coming to OneLove for the first time this year?
Come to OneLove with open hands ready to be challenged and expecting for God to be working in your heart to bring you closer to him and to refine you to be more like Him. Don’t come expecting to leave the same way you arrived.
Don’t come expecting to leave the same way you arrived.
7. How has OneLove impacted your walk with Jesus as you return to everyday life?
After I left OneLove, I didn’t want to go back to my busy life of work, parenting, serving in church and forget the richness and depth I had experienced at OneLove.
Each time I return from OneLove, I spend some time reflecting, re-reading my notes from the talks and I subscribed to the KCC One app so I can continue to reflect on what I learnt.
As we grow in our knowledge of God, we can’t help but grow in our love for Him. OneLove encourages me to lift my eyes, focus my gaze and be strengthened in my love for God. This looks like prioritising spending time with him each morning before I rush into work. Praying and submitting to God in the meetings I’m a part of. Seeing opportunities to speak life and faith into the difficult conversations. Seeking God’s wisdom and asking for discernment in the many decisions I need to make. But it also looks like resting in Him and sitting quietly in prayer and in my Bible.
OneLove encourages me to lift my eyes, focus my gaze and be strengthened in my love for God.
8. In three words, how would you describe your OneLove experience?
Uplifting, refocusing, and strengthening.
Join us at OneLove 2025!
A one-day conference to inspire women through preaching, testimony and fellowship. We’re excited to welcome back Jackie Hill Perry as our keynote speaker!
This year, we’re talking about what it means to live unhindered.
We find ourselves limping. Tired and distracted. But what if God wants us to run—not limp—into life and faith that’s full of joy, endurance, and freedom in Him?
That’s what this year’s conference is all about.
Register today: onelovewomen.com/register
