Don’t Look For The Easy Way Out

Canadians are rising up saying we have always been and will remain an independent country. That’s all Ukraine wants. There is no easy way to get there.

Imagine being invaded,

getting your towns and cities destroyed,

millions of lives ruined or lost,

but still fighting for years for your independence

only to be made to surrender AND pay reparations

for being invaded

to your allies.

That’s what the Trump, Vance, and Hegseth government see as a perfect solution for Ukraine.

Peace

On 13/02/25, Pete Hegseth, a self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist, former FOX TV co-host, and now Secretary of Defence, told NATO leaders that Ukraine will not get all its territory back from Russia and will not be allowed to join NATO and NATO will not be involved in any future force that might be required to police the peace in Ukraine.

I’ve listened to Canadians talk about standing up against the bluster of our neighbouring US President. His threats are economic. We fight back with boycotts, not bloodshed.

Our friends in Ukraine have a deadly neighbour, who never threatened, just invaded and everyday sends missiles, drones, jets, and rockets against day cares, children’s hospitals, schools, and apartment buildings.

Only Today

What can we do?

I take my lead from friends like Pastor Pasha in Dnipro.

Russia rocketed his city in April 2024. I was there. There have been increased missile attacks and deaths since then. He is a district leader for many churches all the while pastoring his own congregation. He says, “The one thing the war has taught me is that all I have is today. I’m definitely not guaranteed tomorrow, so I’m going to give God everything I have today.”

Pasha planted seven churches in 2024. Every week for the last three years they feed the hungry, care for orphans, support the broken, and comfort the grieving with the help of Canadian resources. Some ministry leaders’ children and congregants serve on the frontlines. Some are dead or wounded.

He and his associates see themselves as “warriors for good”. I pray along with them for strength, wisdom, courage and love.

Patriot

Dasha Navalnaya is the daughter of Alexei Navalny, a Russian patriot. She spoke at Georgetown University’s 2023 Commencement Ceremony. Russians murdered her father a few months later in prison. She told the grads, “As students, we are pioneers of the future. Most of us at the ceremony today didn’t have to struggle for our basic human rights. Don’t look for the easy way out.”

Ilya and Jessica didn’t look for an easy way out. They are Russian refugees, living in Israel and caring for Ukrainian Jews who speak Russian. Jocelyn and I met Jessica 7 ½ years ago in Siberia. We didn’t imagine the near future would hold a global pandemic, the rise of BRICS, October 7^th, February 24^th, or the rise of far-right extremism.

I lean into this perspective to make sense of our circumstances. It’s not an easy way out:

I asked for…

strength and God gave me difficulties to make me stronger.

wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.

courage and God gave me dangers to overcome.

love and God gave me troubled people to help.

God answered my prayers.

There is no easy way to the most important things in life.

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