News

400. It’s a big number with a lot of different meanings.

Whilst marathon training, I ran 400kms in the last six weeks.

$400 was the amount I spent on groceries in a fortnight.

It will take probably 400 minutes to wait in line at Port Elliot Bakery for donut of the month.

This week I heard that 400 was the number of Ukrainian schools and preschools that had been bombed by Russia in the last 25 days.

400 schools and preschools. Gone.

At a time when children need stability, their lifeline and safety net has been taken away.

We are halfway through Lent, with families and schools focussing on sacrifice and compassion. The news of the 400 schools being destroyed instils the deep sense of gratitude for what is around us.

With the war in Ukraine being so far away, it is easy to lose sight of it. If you have current COVID19 pressures, family issues, bills to pay, a war that is removed from your everyday tasks is easy to silence. You can switch the TV off; you cannot read the news. You can actively forget it is there.

In this Lenten period, I urge you not to turn the news off and keep reading the articles. I urge continue to pray for Ukraine and peace. And I urge you to practice gratitude.

In the busyness of each day, the Lenten period will give us time to stop, breathe, and write down one thing each day that we are grateful are.

Gratitude is a funny thing. We think it must be the big things. We forget that waking up each day, being able to send our child to school is something to be grateful for. This period can highlight that even during the toughest days, there can be one thing that can still shine. It may be seeing the morning sunrise, runs in a cricket match or making it to school on time.

During this Lenten period, our hope at CSPSA is that this is a time of reflection.

A time to stop. A time to pause. A time to breathe. A time to pray for peace.

400 is a big number.

Photo credit: theirworld.org