So there’s a chapter in my story that took place in Ukraine.
Turns out, that chapter is…
To be continued.
In 2001, Steve and I travelled to Kyiv to adopt a child. We had three sons and – believe it or not – weren’t convinced our family was complete. We talked about having another baby… but kept hearing this still, small voice:
What about all the others?
The orphaned and abandoned. The ones who’ve been shifted/shuffled/shoved around like so much used furniture.
What about them?
We prayed, went to an information meeting on international adoption… and prayed some more.
A year and a half later, we flew to Kyiv, travelled to an orphanage in Odessa… and there, we met our precious four-year-old girl. She had a shy smile, bright eyes, gentle spirit.
Alexandria.
(We decided to call her Lexi.)
We had maybe 20 minutes together. Talking through an interpreter, trying to connect, tenderly dreaming of her future… with a family.
Our family.
But then came 9/11… a travel moratorium… a postponed court date. We slogged through six months of complications and delays. And just as we were packing our bags to return to Kyiv to bring our little girl home, we got a call from Irena, our adoption facilitator in country. Long story short… she’d been informed a professor from Kyiv had filed a preemptive petition for “our” daughter. Alexandria would not be coming home with us after all.
Wait… what???
Irena went on.
Did we want to begin the process again? Travel to Ukraine, meet with orphanage directors, request an adoption referral, file paperwork, pay fees, update our home visit, wait for a new court date, make arrangements to travel back to Kyiv a third time?
Did we want to do that?
Did I want to do that?
All over again?
Yes!
No…
I had no idea.
What was God doing? We’d asked him to lead us. We tried to follow. And it had all come crashing down… and crushed us. Like the World Trade Center towers a few months before.
And now – 21 years later – I’m watching buildings fall again. And people get crushed.
In the very same place this chapter began.
Ukraine.
We’re all watching… the whole world.
Collectively stunned/horrified/reeling/outraged…
Crushed.
And I wonder where is Alexandria? Our dear Lexi? That precious preschooler, now a 25-year-old young woman.
Is she safe?
Is she alive?
And somewhere over there too, our troops stand strong, ready to respond. Whenever, wherever they’re called.
Including my son.
Needless to say, this war – an ocean and four time zones away – hits awfully close to home.
It’s personal.
I see images of cities that Steve and I visited… reduced to rubble. I watch the skies rain bombs onto apartment buildings, businesses, schools…
Orphanages.
And despite my wildly fluctuating feelings, my fretting/frustration/fears/fury (sometimes within the hour), I am oddly comforted.
Inspired.
Hopeful even.
As I witness the esprit de corps of the Ukrainian people and the valor of their president, I’m awestruck. It surpasses human comprehension.
I think a song from Hamilton says it best:
They’re outgunned, outmanned… outnumbered, outplanned.
And yet they…
Rise up!
Again and again. And we – the free world – must too.
Rise up.
Speak up. (Yes, I’ve written to my senators and our President. Can we please stop purchasing oil from Putin? Like… now?!)
Ante up. (There are so many amazing organizations mobilizing to provide humanitarian aid to those remaining in country… and those who have fled. Pick one. Or five. And kick in.)
Pray.
Pray.
Pray.
Recently, Ann Voskamp wrote:
Prayer isn’t the least we can do. It isn’t all we can do. It is the most we can do.
Know why?
Because there’s undeniable… otherworldly… power in prayer.
There’s a scene in The Matrix when Neo goes to see the Oracle. He walks in to see a handful of children sitting on the floor. At first glance, they seem to be playing with toys… but they’re not.
They’re putting training into action. Because they’re not on a playground; they’re in a war zone.
And that’s what we’ve got to do.
Because there are battles – seen and unseen – raging. In Ukraine. In Russia. And everywhere else on this not-yet-God-forsaken planet.
Incoming!
Prayer isn’t fairy dust.
It’s fuel…
And firepower.
BOOM!
It bends spoons. And moves mountains.
I’ve been astounded by eyewitness accounts of divine intervention and protection these past 12 days. And I’ve made a decision.
I don’t want to pray pathetic, puny prayers ever again.
I want to pray big, gutsy, God-sized ones.
Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. ~ Ephesians 3:20 (TLB)
Some friends of ours run a nonprofit rehabilitation center in Ukraine that offers a wide array of medical, social, psychological, educational and therapeutic services. The director there, Oksana (not her real name) sent this email last week:
“The city is preparing for an attack. Even now as I am writing this, I hear planes flying over our heads.
But the Lord has given us incredible peace: most of our staff is witnessing that, in spite of horror we see and hear about, we feel the Lord carrying us through and we know it is because you and thousands of our brothers and sisters are praying. Your prayers are priceless! We also hear many testimonies of God’s miracles like missiles disappearing (announced officially) or not exploding; our soldiers are seeing God’s power and His hand all over them. And it is powerful to see such unity, determination, love and care among all people. Everyone is offering help, everyone wants to do something and be part of this fight. My colleague Nastia (not her real name) caught an armed saboteur singlehandedly yesterday…
We are living through the most critical part of the war, which may take just a few more days or go on for weeks; we do not know. But we do know the Lord is among us, He is doing something great, we are part of His plan and Ukraine will win. So please please keep your mighty, constant prayers up!
Pray for the Lord to be the Saviour and shield of our army and to fight for them. Pray for the Lord to scatter and horrify our enemies and for their bullets and missiles to miss targets. And above all – pray for God’s Presence and light, for the Holy Spirit to bring revival and repentance to our land.“
Several years ago, Anne Lamott wrote a book about three essential prayers:
Help! Thanks! Wow!
I haven’t read the book, but the title rings true. I’m pretty sure Oksana (and her praying friends in Ukraine and around the world) have covered all three.
Help, God!
Thanks, God!
Wow, God!
Again and again.
(This is surely the intent behind scripture’s directive to pray without ceasing.)
One thing’s become starkly clear these past 12 days.
We desperately need God’s help.
You.
Me.
My son.
Alexandria. Oksana. Ukraine.
Soldiers, orphans, medics, refugees.
Ordinary people and presidents.
All.
Of.
Us.
Incoming!
Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold on to the faith we have… Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. ~ Hebrews 4:14, 16
Pray with me.
Wendy
P.S. If you’d like to donate to Mission to Ukraine (the nonprofit rehabilitation center I referenced above), here’s the link: https://www.missiontoukraine.org
Wendy with a Why 