From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 676):

Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19

Happy New Year, dear friends!

I’ve noticed that many of my Ukrainian friends say they don’t feel like doing a 2023 summary or 2024 resolutions, and I can relate. Someone said that the objective situation was much harsher last year than now, but our subjective perception was different. We were happy that we lived through the first months of this invasion; we were hopeful after the advances of our army, and we wanted to believe that spring or summer would bring us our victory.

However, life is more complicated than our wishes. This time around, many of us feel weary and overwhelmed with uncertainty. It doesn’t mean that we are ready to give up. It doesn’t mean that we are disappointed. But we painfully long for peace and justice to be restored in Ukraine, for all the soldiers and POWs to return home alive and well, for our kids to regain their sense of security in their homes, and for all of us to be able to fulfill our God-given purpose in our God-given land.

May God’s peace abound in your hearts, homes, and countries in 2024!

prayforUkraine