From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 1081)
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go silently to Sheol.
Psalm 31:9, 17
I’ve been carrying these thoughts in my head for a few days now, and I was confident I had already shared them here.
My thoughts were provoked by quotes from the Pope recently brought up in the media. They were from previous statements and made more sense in the context, but they were intentionally shared without the context and in a very triggering form. The one that really bothered me was about the need to teach our youth about forgiveness. I’ll share my thoughts even though they may be too straightforward, and I’ll do that because it is not just the Pope but quite a few well-meaning people repeating these ideas.
Once again, I know that a time will come (decades from now) when we’ll need to talk about forgiveness and reconciliation. And it’s not that we don’t teach our kids about forgiveness. Oh, they know they need to be extra gracious and forgiving after a hard, sleepless night of air raids. They learn to be compassionate and help those affected by the cruelty of the war. They learn to be faithful to the values you profess when they see their loved ones join the military. They learn to be sensitive when talking to someone whose dad is in the army. They learn to be patient when they spend hours in the basement. They learn to seek justice and take responsibility for the things they did wrong because forgiveness doesn’t mean that the consequences of your actions magically evaporate. Oh, our children learn so much through this war, things they shouldn’t even think of, that I don’t think anyone has the moral right to lecture them on things they need to learn.
Just today my son learned that no effort is too small in the fight for justice as he watched the video of my parents participating in the bike rally to draw attention to the fate of the POWs and those missing in action. It was a quick bike ride around a small provincial town, yet it was a statement and a valuable lesson for those who care.
On Friday, we celebrated 100 days of school, so our students wrote the traditional “Things I want to do before I turn 100 years old.” There were some usual and funny plans, but one girl wrote, “I want to live through this war.” Oh, how I long for this generation to live through this war and see God’s justice and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Voice of Ukraine 