// Merry Christmas //

“I cannot even imagine what you are going through.”

I’ve heard this phrase a lot.

And I am glad that many of my friends have no idea of what it’s like to live in a country at war.

I’ve tried to explain.

I’ve tried to describe it.

But words fail here.

It’s something that can only be experienced.

Something that you can only understand when you live here, not even just come for a visit, but come to stay.

When your life becomes a war-life balance.

When you strive to live and find simple joys in every day.

When you laugh at the dog’s antics or a joke your kids told you.

When, at the same time, you keep in mind that many don’t have those joys at the moment and you feel guilty for enjoying things like a tasty meal or a hot shower.

And living in Ukraine isn’t always constantly hard, at least in Kyiv.

There are days with no missiles and time between the alarms.

Times when it almost feels like things are okay, even if inside you know you’re expecting the air raid alarm and plan your schedule and your whereabouts ahead to account for it.

Times when I walk the dog in the field next to our house and I thank God for sending me this pup because he brings joy to me. Seeing him galloping across the plains with a happy grin and a lolling tongue makes me smile.

And there are mornings like Wednesday morning.

When instead of thinking of the Christmas celebration that we are planning with our church, I am watching the news of the missiles flying around Ukraine.

When instead of wishing my friends happy holidays, I text them “How are you?!” because I’ve seen in the news that a rocket was heading their city’s way.

But… it’s Christmas.

The time when we celebrate God becoming a man.

And I realized that this idea is very similar to what Ukrainians are going through.

Life as a human in a fallen world is a life at war.

We might not fight physical battles but the spiritual wars are raging all over the world.

Things aren’t always bad, we find joys in this life too, but underneath, as an eerie soundtrack, there is darkness lurking around the corner. You hear those notes and you automatically prepare for something to jump at you.

And we often moan that God doesn’t understand.

He’s God. He doesn’t have a body that he needs to feed. He doesn’t have a need for sleep. He isn’t growing old. Nothing hurts.

And God comes to us.

Becomes a human.

To show that he cares.

To show that he understands.

He understands hunger because Jesus was hungry (think of the 40 days in the desert).

He understands pain.

He understands loneliness.

He understands the sleepless nights.

He understands betrayal.

He understands the idea of pleading with Father for a change of plans.

God understands.

He knows.

He KNOWS.

He truly knows what it’s like to be human.

He knows what we are going through not in a theoretical “from the news” kind of way, but he lived it.

And that’s what we are celebrating.

The birth of “God with us”, Emmanuel.

The birth of God-man who so loved the people he created in their own image that he became one to show that he knows what’s it like to be human… and to reawaken in us his image.

Merry Christmas, friends.

God is with us.

“For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.”

In the wake of Christmas, I can’t help but think of Divine Mercy Chaplet’s words because the entire world is on the brink of WWIII and I hope and pray it won’t happen.

And yet, even if it does, God is and will be with us and that gives hope that prevails.