#BeingHuman. #OnTheRoadAgain. Remembering our spiritual family who endures real warfare (civil, hybrid, and full-scale) – not mere euphemistic “conflicts” or “situations” – as we seek to observe #Thanksgiving amid the thunders of explosions and sirens… as we attempt to give thanks to the Lord.
Our human journey spans valleys and peaks, patterns of joy and sorrow, echoing the timeless wisdom of ancient Ecclesiastes: “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
These seasons manifest differently across our divided globe and Global Church. Some know the warmth of fellowship around laden tables, as the Psalmist’s words ring true at festive gatherings: “You prepare a table before me” (Psalm 23:5). In another reality, blast waves shatter both furniture and lives, while our hearts cry out: “My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns” (Lamentations 2:11).
What does it mean to give thanks when some feast while others hunger? How can gratitude coexist with inequity? How do we reconcile the Prophet Isaiah’s vision of beating “swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4) with the reality of missiles turning plowshares back into weapons? Did he foresee our modern paradox where missiles transform farmland into battlefields? Perhaps these questions themselves are acts of faithful wrestling, like Jacob at the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22-32), refusing to let go until we find blessing.
Dear friends and partners in peaceful lands… Celebrate freely and fully… Your joy matters too… Embrace your joy without shame… Do not let guilt shadow your celebrations… Your moments of joy with family are sacred… Your gratitude for peace in your country is itself a form of witness… As James writes, “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17).
When your children laugh and play, recall Jesus’ special blessing for them (Matthew 19:14). Watch your children, parents, and siblings unwrap presents and cherish their joy. Your peaceful celebration itself testifies to God’s grace. Your moments of peace speak hope into our darkness. Your peace is not a privilege to feel guilty about, but a blessing to steward.
Divine providence has made us one family. We are profoundly thankful that He has woven your threads into the tapestry of our lives – some since 2014 (the first Russian aggression) and some since 2022 (with the full-scale Russian aggression). With Paul we proclaim, “I thank my God every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3). Your presence in our story, even from afar, strengthens us. You hold up our arms as Aaron and Hur did for Moses (Exodus 17:12). We remain bound together in the mystical body of Christ and embody the truth: “if one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
Where does God walk in our fractured reality? How do we trace divine footprints across these divided worlds? Through peaceful homes where children delight in gifts, and through bomb shelters where they learn survival. In tables groaning with abundance and in shared crusts in front-line trenches. They appear in both children’s joyful unwrapping and in young ones learning air raid signals, who can name different explosions by sound. These parallel truths of peace and war coexist in our collective heart. But how can one heart truly hold such opposing realities of death’s valley and green pastures?
Even as missiles and kamikaze drones fall, we cling to the prophet Habakkuk’s defiant faith: “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the Lord” (Habakkuk 3:17-18). For in both our worlds, God’s scarlet thread of redemption continues to weave through history, binding our stories together in ways we may not fully comprehend until that day when we witness “morning stars sing together” (Job 38:7) in a new heaven and a new earth.
What calls us forward in times like these? Not resignation to darkness, but stubborn hope; not despair but Isaiah’s prophetic vision: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). Until then, we remain grateful for each other: we for you under the peaceful skies, and you for us under the skies of the Russian Mills of Death. Until then, we remain bound together in this strange tapestry of suffering and hope, darkness and light, holding fast to the promise that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5).
Peace be with you and keep your children away from war.
Taras D., Ukraine
1009th day of the ongoing full-scale Russian war
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