WAR


Yeva Skalietska (2022). You Don't Know What War Is: 

                                       The Diary of a Young Girl from the Ukraine.


Yeva was 12 years old when the war began in her city in the Ukraine...she kept a detailed diary by day and time for 28 days, from the sound of the first bomb to her landing in Dublin, Ireland, free at last.

The fear, uncertainty, and trauma of the bombings come through powerfully in Yeva's story--all material concerns are nothing compared to the overwhelming need to survive for oneself and one's loved ones. 

The kindness of ordinary people who helped her escape Ukraine to Hungary, then to Dublin, restores my faith in humanity. 

The ability to connect by mobile phone was a blessing and a curse. 

Prayer was a central part of the story--G help us, get us safe. 

I (Jim) feel so GRATEFUL for the relative peace we enjoy here in Chesapeake, Virginia. I can scarcely imagine losing and leaving everything, including friends and loved ones. In reading Yeva's story, i feel so grateful for the blessings of LIFE, family, freedom to move about, clear sky, water, food, clothes, a good night's sleep without the sound of bombs, to walk about the neighborhood without fear, to work and live in relative peace...how fortunate and blessed I am...


Pray for those in the war-torn parts of the world in whatever way makes sense to you, perhaps send them loving energy, or...and pray in gratitude for the peace and life you hopefully are enjoying right now.

ps for days after reading the book, i would look up at the blue sky and say to myself, thank G there are no bombs going off, that we can live in peace.





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