I have watched the news coming from Ukraine with a sense of watching a car crash about to happen. Throughout the whole Russian troop build up I heard people saying that it was just an exercise, that they were just going to “liberate” the Donetsk region since it was a de facto part of Russia anyway.
I heard all this, but thought, why do you need 150,000 troops then? If you are going to liberate an area in the southeast, why put troops in Belarus?
I am not a global expert, but it always appeared to me that Vladimir Putin’s plan was to invade Ukraine, and to take another step towards rebuilding the former Soviet Union.
Since the invasion has begun however, my feelings have been replaced with a sense of helplessness. What can I do?
As I shared with our congregation Sunday, our world is so interconnected. A friend in Bali sent me a note about a friend there who is from Ukraine and who’s family is sleeping in the hallways, her grandmother in a bathtub. Suddenly there was only 3 degrees of separation from victims of this invasion.
Then today I saw a small group in Clock Park in Wolfville, just standing in a vigil for their homeland. I just had to go and stand with them for a few moments. It was the least I could do. It was a way of putting feet to my prayers.
If you have a chance, go and stand as your pray. Will it make a difference? I don’t know, but it made a difference in me.
