I’m sitting in the waiting room of Safelite Auto glass. It’s my annual windshield. My Subaru goes through windshields and headlights at least every six months. So, I’m sitting here cooling my heals for the next two hours. The TV is blaring Fox News, the secretary is chattering to the next new customer and over on the other side of the globe a war is raging.
The war in Ukraine is on my mind all the time. Phoebe and I went with my son and his family to the Denver Aquarium. The place was covid city. It was packed with kids, parents, and grandparents in tight dark hallways, pushing strollers and keeping up with children who were plastering their faces up against the glass staring at eels, sharks, and my favorite - otters.
The entire time in the Aquarium I wanted to ask everyone, “Do you know there is a war raging, people are losing their lives and fleeing as refugees? Don’t you think it’s a bit contradictory that they’re dying and we’re looking at fish?”
I keep telling myself, life goes on. We’re blessed, we live in the US, I live in Colorado. The only real stress I have in my life is a church budget that bleeds red. I’ll take it any day over blood that bleeds red. Yet, I tell myself we can’t become oblivious or numb to what’s going on in the globe.
I remember thinking during the war in Afghanistan that we had completely forgotten about our military men and women who daily risked their lives, died, and experienced all kinds of trauma while we went to the grocery store, commuted to work, and worried about our weight and home budgets. I often wanted to tell people to, “Stop! Wake up! Remember what’s going on over on the other side of the planet!”
Fox News just flashed a news break about the latest development in the war in Ukraine. Not a single person raised their head from their phones or magazines.
Life goes on.
For me the challenge is to allow each day to unfold as it naturally does. I have my wife, children, grandson, and church. Each have their own needs I am called to attend to. Because of the war in Ukraine, I feel I owe it to those citizens to live my life to the fullest. Because they have no joy, I’m going to live my joy for them. While they live in devastation, I’m going to celebrate how smoothly our civilization functions. I’m not going to take for granted that everybody drives on the right side of the road; for the most part everyone has a home to go to and grocery stores to shop at. We can turn on the tap have clean water; we can flush the toilet and it all goes somewhere to get processed. Our streets are vacant of bomb craters and smoldering buildings. Life can truly be miraculous.
As Ukrainians live with courage in the face of military invasion, I’m going to summon the courage to face the challenges my life brings.
I encourage you to do the same. I know you face trials. Your life is filled with illness, financial hardships, raising kids, and even death. Maybe, by being mindful of average Ukrainians fighting for their freedom, or fleeing for their lives, you can be inspired to embrace what confronts you and work to be victorious.
Yes, life goes on. Day in and day out. Yet, while I sit in the waiting room of Safelite for the next two hours I’m going to surf the web, read my book, and always be mindful of those who suffer, and how blessed I am.
Steve
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