By a Young Ukrainian Mother. Read the story of her family’s flight from the war here.

 

Two weeks into this war, this is what I can tell you from my perspective.

War is…

…when you pack in ten minutes with two kids, sit in a car, and go nowhere.

…when you sleep at night once a week.

…when your morning starts not with prayer and coffee but with a call to your parents to ask whether it had been a quiet night in their city

…when you lose your home and don’t have any place to go back to but you still want to go back asap.

…when you don’t see your children playing for a week.

…when you forget how to smile for a week.

…when you pray without words.

…when it feels like you can’t breathe.

…when you lose 10 pounds in two days.

…when you physically feel nausea day in and day out from the terror you hear and see.

…when you move continually, from one place to another, and your children ask: “Mom, where is our home?” The only right answer is, “It is in heaven.”

…when you hug your husband, not knowing if you will ever be able hug him again.

…when you can’t even think about what tomorrow will look like.

…when you can live without any material things except for the clothes you’re wearing and your phone.

…when the question “How are you?” is equal to “I love you.”

…when you can feel physically the words “I am praying for you” and someone’s care embraces you like a warm hug.

…when you realize that someone’s care and prayer are what important, that money is worthless because it just covers the needs.

…when you don’t have money, only what God entrusts to you to invest and distribute wisely according to the needs.

…when you feel the entire spectrum of feelings at the same time 24/7, everything from sorrow to happiness.

…when you hope without hope.

…when your pain is known only to God, as you even can’t even explain it to yourself.

…when you don’t have tears to cry any more.

…when your spirit fights daily with your flesh, peace against worry.

…when you live the Psalms, not just read them.

…when you want to wake up and realize it was all just a nightmare.

…when your faith is the only thing which gives you power not to die emotionally.

…when the physical life becomes moot compared to the spiritual battle you’re fighting.

…when the church loses its walls but unites as one in spirit without any borders.

…when God’s Word becomes the only true source, giving you an explanation of what is going on and what is going to come.

…when you realize the authority of Almighty God, who creates his story.