Lots of These Little Things

“Mom, will there be a World War III?” she asked from the back seat of the car. I had just picked her up from school, and after the usual, “How was your day?” chit chat, she blindsided me with this big, heavy question.

Normally, when I’m given a big, heavy question, I can say with certainty that we’ll be ok, and that the big, bad event is too far off, too far away, or too unrealistic to worry about. For example, when I’m asked by my children or my students about the timeline for when the sun will become a black hole, I can say with certainty, that we don’t have anything to worry about, as that’s billions of years off.

But this backseat query I couldn’t side step. I couldn’t say that everything is going to be ok, because I am not even sure of that myself. We watch with dread as convoys of Russian tanks barrel toward Kyiv. We watch with panic as a madman invades his neighbors with reckless abandon in total defiance of all that is good in the world. (That previous sentence could have come directly from a story about the Second World War.)

So how can I say that everything is going to be ok? I answer truthfully as she sits in the back seat, awaiting my motherly wisdom. Here is my paraphrased answer, suitable for a 10 year old, but will also work with any age:

“In answer to your question about war, I don’t know. I don’t know if we are seeing the start of a war or if countries can work this out peacefully. I hope they can work it out! But I don’t know. Some of these people are not good at listening and are not interested in peace. But you know what we can do? We can say prayers at night for the people of Ukraine, and the people in Russia who are against war. We can be kind to people, and help others out. We can practice patience. We can give money to programs helping refugees. We can give lots of hugs, be a listener, and comfort each other when we’re sad, confused, and scared. We can’t control a whole lot in our world, but we can do lots of these little things to, bit by bit, make peaceful changes in the world.”

And lots and lots of little peaceful things can make a big, heavy difference.

Holy One,

We pray for the situation in our world. Help us to spark peace in a world that so desperately needs it.

Amen

Kelly acts as Mommy-Uber in the morning and in the afternoon. She spends a lot of time answering philosophical questions, discussing current events, and listening and empathizing with stories about the annoying boys in class.