What if the greatest blessing in your life arrived wrapped in fear?
On The Mark Swartzberg Show, Heather Avis, founder of The Lucky Few and mother of two children with Down syndrome, shared how God transformed her understanding of disability, belonging, and the dignity of every human person.
When Heather and her husband learned the little girl they hoped to adopt had Down syndrome, they were met with discouraging voices that treated the diagnosis as a tragedy. Yet everything changed the moment she held her daughter in her arms.
“I remember saying out loud, ‘I don’t know what I was so afraid of,’ because in my hands was a baby.” That encounter replaced fear with love and opened Heather’s eyes to the unique gift her daughter would be to their family.
As her children grew, Heather came to reject the idea that disability is something to be “fixed.” Instead, she discovered that every person is intentionally created by God. Speaking about Down syndrome, she reflected that God lovingly formed each of her children exactly as they are, reminding us that every human life reflects His goodness.
That conviction shaped her mission to help children recognize that they belong. Through her books, Heather encourages young readers to see themselves – and others – as worthy of love, not because of accomplishments, but because they are made in the image of God.
Her message extends beyond families affected by disability. In a culture driven by comparison and achievement, Heather offers a refreshing reminder that our value is not earned. We don’t need to become someone else to deserve love. We already belong.
As Mark reflected during their conversation, this truth echoes what so many experience before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament: the peace of simply being loved as we are. When we begin to see ourselves through God’s eyes, we become free to recognize the dignity and beauty in every person we meet.
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