My daughter who has Down Syndrome frequently asks “Why was I born with Down Syndrome?” She is a very deep and sensitive person and I would like to give her a good answer to her question. Any advice?
The answer would depend on your daughter’s age and her ability to understand. If you believe she would be able to understand, you might read with her the story from the Gospel of John of the man born blind (John 9). In answer to the question of why this man was born blind, Jesus says, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). In other words, one reason people might be born with the developmental differences that they have is so that God’s work in their lives might be more clearly seen. If your daughter requires a simpler explanation, you might say, “God created you as he did because he loves you. And he gave you to us because he knew that we would love you and that you would love us.”
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