(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

War sucks.

I thought the picture of two corpses on the side of a suburban street with their roller luggage intact and the only thing standing after trying to escape, was bad enough. Then I saw a picture of a body covered up next to a bag of groceries spilled out on the street and that was too much. Stop. Lord, stop this insanity.

This war in Ukraine is hitting too close to home with shelling in friendly neighborhoods that look a lot like our own. Somebody just didn’t make it back from the grocery store. It looks like a bag of small potatoes rolled out on the ground next to him. 

“I’m tired of this stale bread, I’m going to the market and get some vegetables.”

“No, dear. Don’t go. It’s too dangerous out there.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I walked the dog yesterday.”

And he never came back. Just another day in suburban Ukraine.

Pray for peace. Pray for divine intervention. Pray for a solution that allows for peace on both sides. But most of all pray for all the innocent people caught in the middle. Pray for people everywhere to turn to God. What else can you do? Pray that among lives lost there will be many souls saved. And pray against the evil one — the destroyer, the liar, the deceiver — and the forces of darkness in heavenly places.  Stop what you’re doing right now and pray. We can make a difference. Pray for God to send angels and for angels to prevail. And pray for Christians to bring love and comfort and servanthood to these desperate situations. Pray for Christians to rise up and seize the day. Pray for goodness and kindness and love in the midst of all this violence and pain and sorrow.

Pray.