At our little church, members take turns leading the congregation in breaking bread every week. A few weeks ago during communion, one of the dads said a few words and then turned the platform over to his daughter, Autumn.
Autumn is 12 years old and was born with Down syndrome. The youngest child of a big, loving, musical family, she loves to dance and worship. She has also been learning American Sign Language (ASL) and wanted to sign a worship song she had been learning. The video below is her mom’s iPhone recording of what Autumn shared with us that Sunday morning.
When I first met Autumn, I was struck by her name – a child
with Down syndrome named Autumn, the youngest of 9 children. I assumed she was
unplanned, and that her name reflected her parents’ later season of life into
which she was born. Not that it was any of my business.
But I eventually asked Autumn’s mom, and she informed me that my assumption was
incorrect. At age 45 she realized she wanted to have one more child. The
parents understood the increased risk of having a child with Down syndrome due
to their age, but they consciously chose to accept whatever blessing God might
give them. God gave them Autumn.
This is beautiful to me. It also stands in remarkable contrast to the direction the world is heading. In recent months there have been news stories reporting that Iceland has essentially eradicated Down syndrome. But not through prevention or through finding a cure. Iceland has reduced its Down syndrome population through prenatal genetic testing and abortion.
This is a troubling accomplishment, but apparently Europe and the United States are not far behind in following Iceland’s chilling example. I love that Autumn’s mom and dad predetermined to love her, with or without a disability.
I don’t know how much Autumn understands of the song she is signing. But the truth of God’s promises remain regardless of how well they are understood. There is something moving about her simple belief in a Savior who loves her and welcomes her into His presence. I have a feeling that we are all in a similar position to Autumn with regard to our imperfect understanding of things to come.
Video used with permission from Lori Mihaly.
I do not own the rights to this music.
“I Can Only Imagine” was written by Bart Millard and released by the band Mercy Me in 2001.
Thank you Scott! I have already passed this message on, on my three FB pages.
Hi Jonathan, Thank you so much for sharing! It’s amazing how this little girl has blessed so many people. Her mom posted this video on her own Facebook page, just for her friends, or so she thought, (it wasn’t even on YouTube yet), and within a couple of weeks it had over 3 million views.
Downs children are a special gift from God.
I was walking one of our local trails a few days ago and saw a mom with a stroller and a 4-yo-ish Downs boy. He had picked up a small rock and was resisting mom’s request to leave it, as I walked up toward him. He only saw me as he turned suddenly in my direction, startled a bit, and gave us a chance to interact about the rock he was holding. Then he opened his arms for a hug, and a glance at mom said it was okay. We both went on our separate ways, all of us very happy, but that was the highlight of my day!
Thanks for sharing that, Mike – what a lovely interaction!
We live in an imperfect world. Ironically, it often seems to be made even less perfect by those who would seek to make it more perfect.