An open letter to my daughter with Down syndrome this World Down Syndrome Day

Dear Charlotte Grace,

My sweet Lovie Dove. It’s incredible how you’ve grown these past 14 months. The day we welcomed you into the world was beautiful, perfect even, in every way. You were a strong and “mighty warrior” already fighting with your very first breath. While we didn’t totally understand just what was happening there in that sterile NICU room, and we had moments of grief for what our own human minds temporarily believed were limits placed on you, we know every person we encountered there was for you, just like we were.

We had prayed so long for you. We had been to so many doctors and had so many tests. We had prayed with so many friends and even our Pastor. We wanted you in our lives. I remember praying things like, “If it’s Your will, give us the baby you want us to have. Let them be yours from the start, loving and joyful.”

I remember praying for mommy and daddy too. We prayed for trust in learning His ways. We prayed we would be more patient parents and with eachother. We prayed we would be given a gift of one ministry in His name for our family, our “one flesh destiny”.

My dearest Charlotte you have, just barely, begun to be His answer to these prayers in your short time on this planet.

“You, my dear, are brilliantly crafted.”

See, you have Down syndrome. And sometimes the world doesn’t understand what that means, but we do. We know that we really are “the lucky few”. We know the One who made you, made you perfectly in His image. We know and trust that the path He has laid before us, and you, is for our good. We know we have a great responsibility ahead of us, being gifted such a precious and rare beauty. Like a geode, people sometimes see just the outside and miss out on all that is within if only they’d just take the time to look. You, my dear, are brilliantly crafted.

Now the world, is just beginning to understand what this means. The world has discovered what He already knew about you long before you were a glimmer in our eyes. The world now knows that you, and people made like you, are so full of joy. The kind of joy that changes people. The kind of joy that so many of us admire and yet are just starting to see with eyes of longing to have for our very own, hoping one day it can be matched in our own hearts.

My dear Charlotte, we promise as your parents to be great guardians of the light you shine for Him. We promise to share the depths of who you are with your sister, family and community too. And we promise to always remind you Who made you by His design. For you are His masterpiece and are so beautifully intentional.

So today, to celebrate upcoming World Down Syndrome Day, we pray you know just how treasured you are. We hope you know He has big plans for you. We believe and trust you are going to be a Mighty difference maker.

We hope the world will see you through His Mighty eyes.

All the love and affections,

Mommy

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