Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Oh my goodness. I cannot stop crying! I watched a news report on our local news station a little over an hour ago about a family who lost their little girl just a few minutes after she was born. They knew she was not likely to live through birth, and if she did, she would most likely die very shortly after. So they asked a photographer from a volunteer organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep to come and take photos of their precious little girl while they still had her.

I went to their website, and wow! You just have to check it out. (There is a song that plays at the beginning, so you might want to turn on your speakers.) Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is a network of about 3200 professional and advanced amateur photographers who volunteer their services to families who are expecting a stillborn child or anticipating that their child may not live long after birth. It gives the parents and families a way to remember their little one. To see some of the images, go to the start page, click on "Our Work" and then on "Image Gallery". These photos are breathtaking! There is one that captures the tiny hands of a baby born at 5 months gestation... her hands are on her mom's finger. The baby's hands are smaller than the mother's fingernail, and yet they are so perfectly formed.

The organization was featured on the Today Show earlier this spring. If you'd like to see the story, click here. It will be totally worth the few minutes it takes to watch the clip.

I kept thinking the entire time I was watching the story and then looking through the organization's website that this is something I would LOVE to do. I'm not good enough yet, but it would be amazing to learn how to take photos like this and do something totally for free that would be such a blessing to parents and families for so long! I know my heart would break every single time I did something like this, but at the same time, it would probably be filled to overflowing with joy at the opportunity to share life with people in such a meaningful way. I would most certainly be indebted to them for allowing me to be a part of such an important part of their lives.

If you are a photographer, maybe this is something you'd like to consider. If so, you can learn more here.

As a parent, I feel like the Lord uses things like this to remind me to be thankful for every moment I have with my children! I mean, I'm thankful for my kids for sure, but it's so easy to just take for granted that they're going to wake up every morning and end each day sleeping peacefully in their beds. No matter whether or not they're healthy now, they're not mine. They are the Lord's, and He can do with them as He chooses. Each day with them is a gift to be treasured. Praise God for little ones, for the ones He takes away and for the ones He allows us to enjoy for a while!