Ukraine Prayer # 513

Ira Kapitonova
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Psalm 150:2
It's air raid time. After two air raids during the day because of the ballistic missile threats, this one may actually get loud. Kamikaze drones are headed at Kyiv.
Waking up in the middle of the night because of the siren alert on our phones, unrolling a mattress in the hallway, getting settled on our beanbags for the night — these are too ordinary to cause much anxiety now. However, this anxiety still builds up somewhere deep in our consciousness without our permission, resurfacing at random times through nightmares or insomnia, panic attacks or episodes of depression.
 
We'll wake up in the morning and go about our lives as if nothing happened, with only stiff necks and fatigue reminding us about the night's events. We'll praise God for being alive, yet I can't help but wonder how much greater our praise will be once this war is over.
 
For those of us living without war, without these fears, can we praise God in our situations and lift those up that don’t have that this day. 

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Today's picture — Maria "Gerda" Czech, a soldier released from captivity, shared her memories of the 2022 spring in Mariupol, "Despite the fierce shelling and hell around us, the tulips bloomed." When Maria brought the tulips to the bunker, defenders ran to her to smell the flowers. "They were laughing and enjoying them like children. For most of them, these were the last flowers they would ever hold in their lives. But at that moment, they were happy." Photo: FB Gerda Explorer.