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By Galena Yoder
Special to The Sentinel
What if the World was at peace? Peace between us and our neighbors, friends, and fellow countries. What if we realized that we are all brothers and sisters, that we all have struggles, we all need loyalty and security. What if love was our first reaction to a situation or problem.
Recently I had the privilege of visiting the country of Ukraine. My eyes and heart were opened to so many things. Despite the sad state of their country, families separated by distance or permanently separated by death, and uncertainties pertaining to safety and wellbeing, the people of Ukraine are the most giving, loving, and grateful people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. The outstanding way they care for each other, whether it be giving a neighbor a dozen eggs from their own chickens, sharing tea together, or making time to help a neighbor or friend carry firewood, has given me a new perspective on how we spend our time and the things we value as important or unimportant.
The people in Ukraine celebrated Christmas a bit differently this year. In other years, many streets in the cities were extravagantly decorated with lights and trees for the season. This year, because of the electric shortage and frequent outages, very few lights and decorations were hung. Despite all this, I noticed a few things that showed me that their Christmas spirit had not been dampened. There were carolers going from house to house in villages, small sprigs of greens and berries hung beside doorways and green and red tinsel strung over army roadblocks in the street corners.
Even though their country is at war, a feeling of peace surrounds these people. They have chosen to make the very best of their current social situation and help each other out to the best of their abilities.
May I suggest that peace for our world cannot be gained by focusing on the chaos and uncertainty of the world we live in, but that peace in our hearts and the outpouring into our relationships, community, and nation, is what can bring peace to the world. So spend that extra five dollars on your friend. Buy flowers for your mom. Show up when you sense or see a need. Together, we can change the world.