From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 996)
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
Psalm 96:9
You might have noticed that I haven’t posted that regularly lately. It could be the busyness of everyday life. Or the effect of many nights spent in the hallway because of air raids. Or it could be the looming number of 1,000 days of full-scale war with a realization that it’s much more than that since 2014. All of these, plus the anxiety of the things to come, took their toll on me, making it hard to concentrate or put words together.
That’s why I’m so glad we have an opportunity to pull back for a little bit. It’s our break week at school, so I got to visit with my friends from YWAM Kyiv, and it always feels like restoration for my spirit.
We also got to go to grandma’s and get several nights of uninterrupted sleep because it’s far enough from anything major, and we don’t need to worry about Russian drones. We’ve had a few days of relaxing walks, card games, and a slower pace of life.
Walking outside today, I was talking to God, wondering why He’s been so slow to answer our prayers. Are 1,000 days not enough? I felt exasperated and exhausted. That’s when I saw a beautiful chrysanthemum bush. The bright petals were a splash of joy on a gloomy day. I looked at the other bush right next to it. I remembered how we turned this small drain ditch into a flowerbed in the spring of 2022. I went to check on other plants. Two more flowerbeds, blueberry bushes, pear trees, tiny pecans and hazelnuts… Each plant brought back memories, and each of them was planted in the past 1,000 days. God was gracious enough not to get angry with me for my complaints, but He gently showed me the beauty these days have brought. And we know that plants are nothing compared to the beauty God’s been producing in the hearts and lives of people.
I’m holding on to His promises and trusting His timing.
Voice of Ukraine 