I can’t thank you enough for the outpouring of prayer for our golden retriever, Gracie, especially at a time when the world is so in need of prayer. She is recovering nicely…too nicely, in fact. She’s way too eager to run and chase the deer out of her yard, as per her usual duties. We don’t want her to reinjure that right foreleg, so we keep her inside at the time of day the deer family usually shows up. All she can do is stand at the window and quiver with outrage, casting us urgent looks: Don’t you see what’s going on out there?! Sometimes she really thinks we’re clueless.
As you certainly know, the dire situation in Ukraine calls for prayer. Just as much, it calls for compassion. Relief organizations are focusing their efforts on the flood of refugees pouring out of the war-torn country, and no one more so than Chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen, who are feeding people by the thousands. Since 2010 Chef José has been responding to people in need, from hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico to earthquake-struck Haiti. We were so impressed with his determination to feed the hungry that we did a cover story on him in 2018 which I think is worth revisiting here to remind of us of the good that exists in a world that sometimes seems to live in the shadow of evil.
There are many ways we can all help relieve suffering in addition to our prayers. Children need winter clothes; families need safe shelter. There are many great and compassionate organizations that are stepping up. You can too.