We are in the height of the cherry season here in Ukraine.

A few days ago, a neighbor family here in the village of Sokilets’ invited us to come pick cherries from the trees in their yard. We brought several buckets of cherries back to the nursing home and served them freshly washed to the residents for an afternoon snack. Every day is a blessing!

Although our neighbors cordially invited us to pick cherries from their trees, they were not at home while we were actually picking the cherries. They were attending a funeral. It was their son’s funeral.

Alexander was 49 years old and had been drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine about 6 months previously. The family had been officially notified about a week before the funeral that he had been killed in the ongoing “Battle of Bakhmut.”

Alexander’s funeral was a major community event here in Sokilets, with family, friends and well-wishers coming from nearby villages and towns. The local government social services agency published some video footage of the ceremonies:

Alexander lost his life by violence, but his spirit soars and our memory of him inspires. Find peace, know joy. Every day is a blessing – even a funeral day. In the life story of his family, pray the loss will not just be a harrowing event in a dark chapter, but actually the beginning of a brighter new chapter.

At the time the memorial for Alexander was taking place – concurrent with similar memorials in honor of numerous other victims of war throughout Ukraine and Russia – the mainstream media was dominated by stories about five thrill-seekers who lost their lives in the OceanGate Titan submersible. People, please understand, an ongoing tragedy that drops out of the news cycle is still an ongoing tragedy! Let’s all treat “the news” as more than mere entertainment, pay attention to what’s important in this world, listen to our consciences and take appropriate actions accordingly!