When I was in nursing school one of the instructors gave us this advice: When you find yourself not knowing what to do next or unsure of what to say, wash your hands.
The thought was that you can collect your thoughts and plan the next steps while washing your hands. Even if you had already washed your hands, it is a good practice to wash hands when working with patients or clients.
I’ve been thinking about Ukraine and what I or any of us can do about it. It is so upsetting and unbelievable that at this day and age of 2022 we still have governments who think they can just trample over another sovereign country. (Ah, but therein lies the rub- there is no common recognition or definition among nations of who is sovereign.) But as we know, there is nothing new under the sun.
In this geopolitical scenario, we cannot solve this problem by washing our hands and certainly we cannot “wash our hands of the situation”. Even if one did not believe that we have any spiritual communality with and responsibility to one another (and by spiritual, I mean that we are all made in the image of God), we should be moved to do something by the sheer fact that these are fellow human beings- on both sides of the conflict: brothers, sons, fathers, mothers, daughters, sisters.
Lately, certain circumstances in my life have been totally out of my control. I find that I do not know what to do next and at times, unsure of what to say. But there is one thing I do know that I can do. I can pray.
I am thinking that the one thing that we all can do during this horrific situation with Ukraine is pray. Of course, the skeptics will say why bother- why would a loving God allow this bloodshed to occur in the first place? To that question- I do not know why. God’s ways are not my ways (thank God!) All I know is that when humankind does not get along, it is only through God’s grace that reconciliation can occur. That begins through prayer: prayer for the situation; prayer for the individuals involved; even prayer for the pray-er. Prayer changes situations but mostly prayer changes the individual who is praying. It helps refine the request, see things with a different perspective, keep the individuals for whom one is praying, foremost in one’s mind, and changes the heart of the person praying.
On Sunday, I read an article about the Ukrainian military inviting mothers of Russian soldiers to come to the border to pick up their captured sons. “You will be received and taken to Kyiv where your son will be returned to you,” the ministry statement says. “Unlike Putin’s fascists, we Ukrainians are not waging war against mothers and their captured children.” Sure, the skeptical part of me calls it propaganda but what a concept- recognizing that these soldiers are someone’s children.
I am wondering about the Russia mommas. Are they praying for their boys? Was this an answered prayer for them? Shouldn’t we be praying for all life to be spared?
Paul reminds us to pray without ceasing. That is a tall order for one person. I like the Orthodox concept of that: prayer without ceasing is knowing that we are collectively part of a praying community. When I cannot pray, someone else is. In a twenty-four hour period, prayers are being offered. Constantly.
I heard someone suggest- any time you hear a city named in the conflict, say a prayer for the people there. Pray for the world leaders. Pray for the Ukrainian leaders. Pray for the Ukrainian people. Pray for the Russian people. Pray for the Russian leaders. Pray that humankind will learn something from this conflict. And I pray that those on “the other side” are also praying.
I do not have enough knowledge nor imagination to know what to do next. But I trust in the ONE who does know. I trust that through our collective prayers, something will happen, for good and not for ill.
Loving Parent, How you must weep to see Your children not getting along. How it must break Your heart. Hear our prayers for safety and protection for the soldiers and all involved in the conflict. We pray for the Ukrainian people. Give them strength, courage and resolve-that they know that they are not alone in this endeavor. We pray for the Russian people- that they would have the courage to stand up to a bully government. We pray for the countries who are watching- that they know the right time and the right actions to step into the conflict. While we do not know why this is happening, we trust that You do and that You are working in this situation. Amen.
