Back then, I did not emphasize why I like each one and I don't plan to do that today. There's probably an explanation in the "terms" about sharing content from there, or maybe I could ask the "writers" for their permission before I share; or just link, like I did and the option is yours. However, I've done none of the above (yet), but as I read the one from June 21st, I found myself sympathizing, empathizing, and placing my heart broken self BETWEEN their life & the lives we live here, wondering as awful as I see our country as it's being divided, destroyed, and so many despicable events being dealt with on a daily basis; we have not yet had to deal with the pain that his country is facing daily, and has had to fight since the invasion by another country in 2014 and yet again since 2022 (February 24).
Life BETWEEN freedom and occupation, with someone else in control & continually destroying & taking their land because of wrong, corrupt & misplaced thinking & belief of the invading country's leader and the lies that were given to his country as the rationale. Not at all the place, I (nor they) would choose to live in the BETWEEN, but because it's their country, they fight to defend their homeland. I have a great deal of respect for every single person from this country, whether they stayed or had to move to safety in another place (or country). I cannot imagine the horrors of their daily nightmare that they have had to endure & remain in the fight, with the destruction all around and now insurmountable attacks escalating, but their spirit is not broken. Yet mine is & my heartbreak increases each time I read from his Substack.
<>
YET
This is not at all the idea of BETWEEN for this week's
{and sharing from it is not the point or reason that I came to blog at this time}
perhaps I will add some still later from The Blue Book
yet I think we get plenty in the book & now on JB's blog
[Archive mostly, back in September of 2012 currently]
Jim Branch on day 1 basically explained
the space
BETWEEN
that sacred space
| "... It is the space where you must trust the heart of God alone for your life."... Jim Branch, October, 2005 |
I came because I want to share
| "Here Comes the Sun, Even in a World like This"
{this part is almost all the way to the end of his 'story', but the rest is awe-inspiring, in fact, reading it again I had tears falling} "...And let me tell you something that I’ve learned these last 3 years. You don’t need to live in a war zone to feel like you're fighting one. You can be fighting a serious disease. You can be mourning someone you lost. You can be struggling to pay your rent, sleeping in your car, sending job applications for two years and getting silence in return. You can be skipping meals to make it through the week. You can be feeling invisible. Facing something that doesn’t make the headlines, but breaks you just the same. And still, the same sun that rises over Kyiv rises for you. Even if your war isn’t on the news, it’s real. Your particular war. From here, from this wounded country, I tell you that the only way out is through the heart. The only way forward is through warmth. Through connection. Through the smallest choice to believe in something again. To tell yourself it’s all right. Not because it is, but because it needs to be." ~Viktor Kravchuk |
I do not think that I would have the strength or hope,
| "We Live in What's Left of a Map" "They erased our lines, but not our lives" "THEY SAY PUTIN IS LAUNCHING his “summer offensive.” That he’s trying to break our morale. That he wants a map with just enough red ink to call it a victory. They’re not wrong. But what they still don’t understand, and I don’t know how to make them, is that we don’t live by the map anymore. We live in what’s left." ~Viktor Kravchuk |
| "... decidedly, absolutely, completely, undeniably together in this fight." |
I thank you, Viktor Kravchuk & others like you!
| "... between letting go and being taken hold of…between the old & familiar and the new & unknown … between control & agenda and dependence & detachment."... ~ Jim Branch, October, 2005 |
but on a whole different level than WE do
and it just struck me
how very precious our very breath & daily freedom
that we are given - have truly been
and
like Ukraine
it's being slowly
(yet very quickly & methodically, before we see it for what it is)
taken & destroyed;
our grip is being pried open
and our very minds & thoughts are being deceived
from all sides because
we too are being bombarded by the enemy
<>
I take no pleasure in writing my weak words lacking courage
for such a time as this
however
in reading words from others on
SUBSTACK
my eyes have been opened
{I almost wrote without any hesitation the following}
"... mine eyes have seen the
GLORY ..."
{and I quickly thought}
"... of the coming of the
LORD"
{out of the recesses of my heart & soul arose those lyrics}
so I paused & gave reflection
that this is what I want
yet realized
what
we are truly seeing
is the exact opposite sadly
our world is in so much chaos & destruction
that abounds while we linger
BETWEEN
this kingdom & God's kingdom
"BETWEEN
the boat & Jesus"
BETWEEN
heaven & hell
{sadly for many, hell is right here, on this earth}
I read this in another favorite's reply to
the author of "The Beautiful Mess"
that I read before I knew it was a Substack
" ... history has always lived in the valley
BETWEEN
despair and defiance."
This gifted writer always writes with
power, truth & sound wisdom
from his life's experiences
but this
BETWEEN
is where our country seems to be
as I read his full reply comment
his use of
BETWEEN
jumped off the page and his ending statement:
"We carry the flame - not because
we know it will light the whole world,
but because it must not go out."
I'm sure Viktor agrees with this as I do!
<>
My words are not at all as encouraging
as Viktor's always seem to be
and his FreedomLine Substack shares.
Because my heart is heavy, so very weighted
by all the grief, pain, despair
and I don't even live in a war torn space (yet)
but I see it all around me
in others & in other's states
as I live awakened to the utter tragedies & nightmares of many
BETWEEN
mine and the trampled vintage
of our divided nation
BUT
HIS TRUTH is MARCHING ON
<><><>
for me, it's because
MY ONE WORDs for 2025
are
ABIDE and TRUST
{so I do & I will}
keep trying
<>
as I PRAY on REPEAT
OUR OPENING PRAYER
for this week
BETWEEN
| "O Lord, our God, so much of this life is lived in between; between the now and the not yet, between arriving and departing, between birth and death and rebirth, between growing up and growing old, between questions and answers. Help us not to live only for some distant day when the in between will be no more, but help us to step into the mystery of that sacred space here and now—knowing that it will be a place of genuine change and true transformation. (JLB) |
BETWEEN
📖 “The Divine Comedian: Ukraine’s Journey Through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise” is my (Viktor's) first book: about Ukraine, seen from inside the fire, and the hope that refuses to die. Download it for free (PDF & Kindle).
