Resiliency

Many of us likely hoped for better news during the past week. When I wrote last week, the war against Ukraine had just begun. We hoped for a cessation of hostilities, the flood of new refugees to end, and the suffering to stop. What we got instead was increased hostility, more and more Ukrainians attempting to flee (some being killed in the process), and increased suffering.

And yet out of the increased suffering, there have been tremendous stories of resilience. An 11-year-old boy was sent to the Slovakian border alone by his mother because she had to stay behind to take care of her infirmed mother. This boy traveled hundreds of miles to escape to the house of relatives. Ukrainian Christians continue to meet for worship despite the sounds of bombings in the distance. Youth with a Mission (YWAM) missionaries are on the borders of most of the countries surrounding Ukraine helping refugees get across the borders and to the proper shelters. My wife is a former YWAM’er and her contacts say these folks are at the point of exhaustion due to the vast numbers of refugees and the chaos of getting them proper help. Another contact, whose husband is a pastor in Kiev, tells of their arduous journey to the border of Romania, and the miraculous help they received after sitting in a miles-long line of cars waiting to cross. Shortly after, the pastor returned to the border to help others and to see if he could arrange getting medical supplies back to Kiev. No one is giving up. Even if they are fleeing, their hearts are looking back at their homeland and attempting to figure out how they can help others still there.

As I wrote last week, my heart is gladdened by such sacrifices and resilience. But it makes me wonder if I or any of us living our relatively comfortable lives in the States or wherever would be as resilient if bombs started raining down on our cities. Or if we as a society had to make great sacrifices as did our grandparents and great-grandparents had to during WW II. Would our faith remain strong? Would we make great sacrifices to help? 

I raise these questions because there long have been concerns over the resilience of young people in the face of adversity. Depression, anxiety, and suicide have been on a sharp upward trajectory for a number of years among young adults. Is their lack of resilience reflected in our lives as well? Through “helicopter” and “snowplow” parenting, have we tried to make life too easy and safe for our kids? Have we unintentionally deprived them of the experiences that lay the crucial groundwork for resiliency when they encounter set-backs and difficult times?

I think resiliency is likely to be the currency necessary to navigate the future. Jesus forewarned us that we would have trouble in this world, but that we should take heart because he has overcome the world. (John 16:33). Taking heart is to be resilient because we trust not our circumstances, but the Lord who is sovereign over them. Given all that is happening in the world currently, building resiliency in ourselves and our kids should be a top priority as we prepare for a very uncertain future.

© Jim Musser 2022 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.