Inspiration and Sorrow

This little girl reminds me of what Christianity can be and what we lost when Mosul was destroyed.  All the nuances of the faith must have been absorbed into the culture.  How else can a young girl so naturally proclaim "God provides,"   with the same ease as Southern children say, "Yes, Ma'am." 

And now I can't help but think of how much more we are missing from the many hundreds of years where we were under persecution.  Signs of praise, thanksgiving, prayer... second nature to Christians who lived in Christian communities. 

But we are watered down in our Orthodox Culture.  We forget to be generous, thankful, merciful.  And worse, we live in fear and anger.  Little Myriam is my glimpse of what a true authentic Christian is.  And I am convinced that she was nurtured to be this way. 

Oh what we lost when Mosul fell.  Oh what we lost.