God’s grace is, indeed, amazing. It is such an important Biblical concept. It is God’s favor on the unworthy. Through grace, God forgives and blesses us, even though we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ” (Romans 3:23).

Somehow, I think Bryan grasps this abstract concept. Lord knows, he has sinned plenty in this lifetime, unwittingly doing things that need an abundance of forgiveness. But, don’t we all? I think God understands Bryan’s heart and knows that when he does something wrong, He is quick to forgive and understands Bryan’s faults and shortcomings. Lofty prayers of forgiveness are not going to flow from Bryan’s lips. However, I know he prays daily. Perhaps these prayers are unintelligible to the listener. But God understands the heart.

Bryan loves to sing “Amazing Grace”. He has a myriad of renderings of this hymn on Spotify which he listens to on his phone. This particular recording of his is far from perfect. When we did this, he wanted to record it again, since he made a mistake with the diction in several places. We tried numerous times. Eventually, he broke down in tears and cried “I just can’t!” There was too much pressure to make it perfect. And that’s OK. We don’t have to be perfect. That’s what grace is about.

During this Down Syndrome Awareness Month as you practice inclusion of those who are “differently abled”, know that through grace God forgives and loves us all no matter our disability, vaccination status, political leanings, race, social status or orientation. All you have to do is ask sincerely and grace shall be given. And that’s pretty amazing!