Ira Kapitonova
On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Psalm 62:7 A couple of weeks ago, someone asked me where our joy comes from now, when we are nearing the end of the second year of the full-scale invasion. I will share my response here today, on Advent Sunday, when people around the world light up the Candle of Joy. After we returned to Kyiv, our pace of life changed a lot from the slow, rather predictable, and safer life in a village. I'd say that this year, we learn to live day by day, dealing with challenges step by step, learning to be grateful in the moment. We wake up, and we are thankful there were no explosions at night and we are well-rested. We get ready to go to school, and we are grateful to be able to travel safely through the city. At school, the children often pray and thank God that they don't need to go to the basement (our bomb shelter). We come home, and we appreciate the chance to be together as a family because the war has separated many families. We learn to find joy in daily struggles. An air raid might have prevented us from going out, but we could have family time in our hallway (the safe part of our apartment). A snowstorm might have paralyzed the city, but it meant the indescribable joy of playing in the snow for the kids, so we would seize this opportunity just to let them have fun. We are still worried about possible blackouts and try to prepare for those, but even as we stock up on candles and flashlights, we bought some battery-powered Christmas lights to bring joy into the darkest of nights. I wish our days were more predictable, but I also feel like God tells me every morning, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Tonight, I pray for all to be able to experience the joy of God’s love and grace — whether it is in the heavily shelled trenches or in the warmth and safety of their homes. God offers us His joy despite circumstances, yet it is up to us to receive it. Today's picture is an art piece by Irenaeus Yurchuk, "Light will conquer darkness." These have been difficult days for Ukraine. Kyiv has been under missile attack for some days now and the front has become a frozen swamp. Yet they (Ukrainians) continue to teach us and encourage us with joy. Please pray for them that their joy might continue in spite of the difficulties of this war. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Comments are closed.
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