A photographer's gift

Most of you out here in blogland reading this, aren't photographers. I know that. But, most likely you're humans, and know other humans. So, from one human to another (and any photographers reading) I feel compelled to tell you about a new ministry that I've recently learned about: "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep."

http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.com is an organization of parents that have suffered the loss of a newborn baby, and a group of photographers volunteering their time to capture the only portraits of that baby that will ever exist. The website is hard to view. I guarantee it will chill you. These tiny babies don't make it. No first step, no first birthday, no first tooth or word. Some of them, not even a first breath or cry.

As a photographer, it's easy to forget the ministry we have the talent to fulfill. It's powerful. For those of us out here that have healthy kids yelling "MOMMY!!" every five seconds, it's a heartbreaking reminder that life could have been horribly different.

No matter who you are or what your talent is... you have an opportunity to be involved in the life of someone out there. Even if it's hard, it's always powerful. But sometimes you are impacting a person's life, even when you don't get to know it.

I know that meeting these families will be difficult, and taking pictures of a still baby will be gutwrenching and foreign, but it's a gift that I have the power to give. Make sure you know what your gift is.