“A Gift For My Daughter With Down Syndrome”
When I first heard “How Could Anyone” the beauty and tone-quality of Shaina’s voice caught my attention immediately. Then I listened to the words she was singing, and I started to cry. The words of this song and the sensitive and powerful way Shaina sings it, touched me so deeply. You see, I have a little girl who was born with Down syndrome, and when I first found out that my child was “broken”, my world fell off it’s axis, and I cried for many years.
Eventually healing started to settle in and help was offered by support-groups, but nevertheless, the road is often steep and lonely, and we have to endure lots of discrimination. Often kids and even parents at the playgrounds avoid my little Christina, call her disgusting and don’t allow her to play with them. Kids whisper about her, point their fingers and laugh at her…shame on them!!! They make her feel ugly, unworthy, and like she doesn’t deserve love and respect and is less than whole, which hurts Christina and me very deeply.
So these words resonate totally with my soul: (Lyrics by Libby Roderick)
How could anyone ever tell you
You were anything less than beautiful
How could anyone ever tell you
You were less than whole
How could anyone fail to notice
That your loving is a miracle
How deeply you’re connected to my Soul…
I feel very protective of my little Christina, and the world needs to learn to accept everyone just the way they are. They need to understand that people with special needs are worthy of respect, love and integration.
People with disabilities are not some kind of cosmic mistake, but are sprinkled throughout our midst to teach us about unconditional love.
I love this song and it brings healing and joy to my hurting heart.
Thank You Shaina, for your beautiful music.
Love,
Daniela
Visit Daniela’s website to learn about her work helping children with special needs learn to play the piano, including a video of her daughter, Christina, playing in concert with an orchestra:
http://danielaclapp.com