1 year! Oh, no… not at all….
Today we see reports that the war in Ukraine is one year old. Let’s talk about that…. Because that 1 year… is not correct.
The hostilities of the war in Donbas started as early as April 12, 2014 with the capture of the Ukrainian cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka…. So today it is not one year ago, but the war in Ukraine is already going on for……. 8.87 years…..
We already lost our first friends in 2015…. They were already dea by thend…. on both sides of the conflict….
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a BUK missile on July 17, 2014. Not one of the 298 people survived, including 193 Dutch people. Many people in Ukraine then thought: ah, now something is going to happen internationally against this invasion! But no, nothing happened… nothing. No matter how you look at it, that war has been going on for way longer than 1 year. It’s great that there is attention for it today (I believe in NL they let the church bells ring in some cities), but that one year… is not right at all. And that is very sad.
Anyway, that’s not the point i want to talk about, I wanted to talk about something else. How normal is that war for us right now? Two examples: (we have more, but these are the most “funny” ones, and yes, we do laugh about it)
This model kit is available here in the store. This allows you to recreate the evacuation (1986) of Chernobyl in scale 1:35. Nothing strange about it… or is it?
If this is normal and in the store… what is no longer normal?
Another example, last week I was in the city center and there really was a huge(!) explosion. From the level “the windows rattle” and you feel the air pressure. A real one.
My first thought was: mmhhh… should I go back home and give E a hug before we’re all done for, or should I continue shopping?
Was i Anxious? No, not one second. It was normal. “Oh, well, if this is it, I’m fine, it’s finally here”.
I took a brief look at the sky, but didn’t see a large mushroom cloud, so I continued shopping. Not even a single thought of being afraid. Nothing. It was normal.
Reminds me of this Bible verse:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
And how is that for you? Afraid of the future, or is it “normal”? What are we actually concerned about? We sometimes get questions “how we think about things” and we really don’t have a clue what the question is / why they ask. Because in light of the big picture, we don’t even think about it. It does not exist.
What we do worry about: What can we do today before it is no longer possible. Not for ourselves, but for others. Somewhere, a clock is ticking. So, What are you doing? Today?
Oh yes, the Ukrainians themselves? They are afraid that this “jubilee” will be celebrated today with extra rockets ….on their house…. the number of refugees has risen again in recent days for that reason.
