We have been at war continuously since 2001.
In the last few years, U.S. bombs and drone strikes have become so prevalent that they have fallen out of our news cycle. Normalized and out of view, they fall from the sky and fall from our consciousness. But for others, they upend human lives, destabilize entire neighborhoods, and create lasting trauma.
My heart is with Syria today.
I have very few words but many emotions. . . These words do very little justice to the gravity of the situation, but my heart expresses concern for people trapped on the ground, refugees displaced and rejected, and children who will bear the scars of these days throughout their lives.
My heart expresses concern for people enlisted in the U.S. military who are wondering what this means for their lives. I am concerned for their families.
And above all, I pray for the day when violence ceases in all directions, and we begin to beat swords into plowshares.
That feels so far away.