I had just gotten home from church one Wednesday evening during Lent. I had been teaching a series I called, "Famous walks in the Bible" on how any walk with God requires faith in a God who is always faithful to us. My wife Denise had stayed home that evening. I wasn’t sure why. When I saw her I knew she had been crying and I had a suspicion what it was all about. The doctor had just called to tell her that recent tests had revealed the baby she was carrying was positive for Down syndrome.

This was one of our greatest fears given her age. The doctor tried to lessen the shock by saying that while there was a 60 percent chance the baby would have Down syndrome, there was still a 40 percent chance it would not. Flipping a coin would give better chances than that! We were shocked. We hoped for the best, but prepared ourselves emotionally for dealing with a baby who had Down syndrome. No, we told the doctor. We wouldn’t have an amniocentesis that was recommended to be sure.

This baby was a gift of God no matter what. And God would give us the grace to deal with whatever would come.

The whole thing wasn’t supposed to have happened anyway. Our two older girls were in high school and middle school. We had been "done" having kids years before. Denise was finishing up her masters degree and preparing to teach full time. Just a few more years, we thought, and the kids will be gone. We’ll have more freedom. Maybe we could return to the mission field where we served before coming to Kansas.

There were so many possibilities. But now in our mid-forties we were looking at the prospect of doing it all over again: the crying, the sleepless nights, the diapers and baby-proofing the house. We were not looking forward to it. And what would all that mean with a baby who had Down syndrome?

On that particular Wednesday evening I had taught about Abraham’s famous walk with Isaac up the mountain where Abraham had been commanded to sacrifice his only son—the child of the promise who he and Sarah had waited and hoped for so many years. God had been faithful to His promise and had given them a child in their old age (way beyond their 40’s).

Now, however, that same God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. It surely would have been a lonely walk, but Abraham walked in faith in a God who he believed would be faithful to His promise.

That night as I spoke about walking in faith, I remember telling about leading the youth in our church on trust walks around the facility. You know how it goes. One kid leads a blindfolded kid simply by giving instructions. Of course I would warn the sighted kids leading the blinded ones that intentionally running someone into a wall would be a sin. And the wages of sin is death. To date no youth has ever led another into the wall in my church. I’m not sure if they get the point of the exercise is to illustrate God’s faithfulness to us, or else they simply fear me. Nevertheless, the point is made: God is faithful and won’t "bonk" us into the wall when we walk with Him in faith. But that’s easier said than done.

Hearing the news that our baby might have Down syndrome, however, felt like a "bonk." During the six months we waited to find out for sure allowed me a lot of time to think. I thought how easy it would be simply to abort this "accident" in our lives. We could continue on with our plans according to our expectations. No crying, sleepless nights, diapers, and the rest. We could just close our eyes and make it go away.

I didn’t think about those things seriously for us. We have stood publicly against abortion for many years. But I thought how those same justifications are used every day in our country—to lethal ends. I have Christian friends who have Down syndrome kids. And they tell me what a blessing they are. Why couldn’t this be the same for us? No, not a "bonk," a blessing.

We knew God would be faithful to us in all circumstances and we would trust him. My wife liked the name "Gabriel" if it was a boy, reminding us of the angel who announced the blessing of a child to both Elizabeth and Mary so long ago. I liked the name "Grace" for a girl because I knew a baby born with Down syndrome would need a lot of it.

The day came. Grace was born. And within seconds we knew she was in that 40 percent. Still there would be crying and sleepless nights and diapers. And we would still need God’s grace through it all. She’s almost a year old now and people tell us how beautiful she is. And she is. But she would have been beautiful even if she had Down syndrome.

All babies are beautiful; their beauty derived from being loved by God. Looking at Grace, the thought that millions of beautiful babies have had their lives ended because they are not convenient, makes my heart just ache.

May God give us His grace to do our part so that beautiful babies are given the life that God gave to them.