Family

 Im still slightly buzzing from the really lovely God moment I had in a charity shop yesterday with a lady called Victoria. I was rooting around in a box of junk when I heard her say to the lady behind the counter that she was buying clothes for her mother who was coming from Ukraine and would it be possible for her to have any discount as her mother had nothing and needed quite a few items of clothing.  The shop lady said yes of course and took a pile of clothes off her so that she could go and look at the coats, saying that she would get a discount and not to worry.   I finished rooting around in the box and went up to the counter with a handful of random items I wanted to buy.  Counter lady was busy so as I waited I thought Id ask Victoria about her Mum.

It turns out Victoria's Mum is in her 70s, has heart failure and cant really walk very far but had managed to make her way from Kharkiv to Lviv where she was currently waiting for some sort of transport to take her into Poland where family members would pick her up.  The plan was then to get her to Northern Ireland.  Victoria's Dad                (presumably also in his 70s) had decided to stay in Kharkiv, despite their apartment block having been shelled.   The family had not been able to persuade him to leave.   So now Victoria was buying clothes for her Mum and trying to sort out how she might get her to Ireland from Poland.  The process was proving difficult.     

As I was listening, the counter lady finished what she was doing and took my items.  I paid for them and then said Id pay for the clothes Victoria had set aside for her Mum.  It seemed the least I could do.  Victoria protested a little and I smiled at her and then gave her a big hug and which was warmly reciprocated.  Then I just asked if I could pray for her and she broke into a huge grin and said ' Oh yes, Im a believer!  Are you a believer too?  Born again? '  I told her I most certainly was and there in the tiny charity shop we stood and prayed for her Mum and for her and for the war.  As I finished praying and said ' Amen' I heard an elderly gentleman who had entered the shop whilst I was praying add his Amen too 😊

I left the shop glowing.  Not because Id done anything remarkable by praying with a stranger, but because of the kindness of God in allowing me to meet this lovely lady and stand with her in solidarity as part of the family of God.  There is something so powerful in knowing that across the world I have a family who I dont know but who belong to me. We love each other because we love Jesus.   When one part of the body is hurting then I hurt too.  I feel a tiny part of the anguish and the pain of the church in Ukraine and yesterday God allowed me to hug part of my Ukrainian family and just spend a moment being with her.  We will probably never meet again but yesterday I became a tiny part of the story of what God is doing in her life and she became part of what He is doing in mine.  Amazing eh?  Well I was amazed anyway.  

Last week in our church prayer for Ukraine God reminded me that He is the Lord of the Exodus.  He has a track record of being able to move huge amounts of people through impossible circumstances to freedom whilst being pursued by an enemy army.  Yesterday at least some of the humanitarian corridors held for long enough to get some people out.  Let's keep asking the God of the Exodus to make a way where there is no way and bring more people to freedom and peace. And especially Victoria's Mum.