Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

One of the things I really enjoy about my job is the chance to interview people now and then. Once a month, Lynne and I do a show called "Spots and Spotlights," which usually features five different interviews, and yesterday, one of the interviews I did moved me so much that I wanted to tell you about it today.

I've told you before about my nephew, Kirk, who was stillborn when I was ten. His death was completely unexpected. My sister had a perfect pregnancy and was experiencing a normal labor when suddenly...he was gone. Twenty-five years ago, people didn't really talk about infant loss, and we'd never known anyone who had lost a baby. When the doctor came to tell the family the heart-wrenching news, no one knew what to do. No one expected that announcement.

The hospital staff stepped in and encouraged all of us to hold him, to take pictures of him, to take a few moments with him, because those few moments would be all we had. They brought my sister a lock of his hair and tried to do everything they could to cover things we wouldn't know to do.

Twenty-five years later, I can flip through a tiny scrapbook with copies of the pictures we took that day. Candid snapshots snapped on film cameras in poor lighting...and it's all we have. Sometimes I look at them just to remember his little face. His features. And I'm thankful that even though the pictures are typical 80's quality, we still have them. We have that piece of our family's first baby in that generation, whose life was loved, prayed over, and still matters so much.

It was because of that story that I wanted to interview someone from Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. Have you heard of them? They're an organization that connects families like ours with photographers who can do photo shoots in those few, fleeting moments. Photographers who can come to a hospital and sit with a grieving family and hurt with them and yet take beautiful, professional-quality pictures so that twenty-five years later, that family still has something tangible to represent a little life they never got to fully know.

I think this is a remarkable ministry. I told Ryan in my prep for the interview that if I had professional-grade photography skills, I'd sign up to volunteer for them in a heartbeat because I so believe in what they do and I know the importance of photos in that moment.

Speaking here from a not-the-mom perspective, I will say that those moments are so hard. It's hard to be in that room and so full of conflicting emotions and not know how you're supposed to act or what you're supposed to say or how to process everything flooding through you. {And I was only ten on that day. I can't imagine how much harder it is for adults who really get it.}

So anyway. Here's why I'm writing this post. At the end of the interview yesterday, Gina {from Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep} told a story of a woman who was waiting in the doctor's office for a routine appointment, when she picked up a magazine that had an article in it about the organization. She read it and continued on her way. A few weeks later, she found herself in the same place as my sister: unexpectedly saying goodbye to her baby. If she'd not read the article, she never would have known that she could have pictures of that baby.

I would never want someone to kiss a baby goodbye without knowing about this ministry and what they offer. Those pictures are too precious and can go so far in helping in the grief journey. So I wanted to write about this today so you know...so if you ever know of anyone who needs them, you can tell them.

And how I hope you never need them. How I hope you never know anyone who needs them. But the truth is, this organization is less than 10 years old and has already helped tens of thousands of families, Gina said. And I want to make sure they can help someone you love if that day ever comes.

One of only two photos I have of me holding Kirk. I was ten.

Thankfulness: Day 21 - Most people choose to use their gifts because someone encouraged them to do so. And sometimes, it's those same encouragers who even see the gift for the first time. I remember the first time someone encouraged me as a writer: I had no idea I even had a skill until she mentioned it to me. And how grateful I am now that she did!! So who saw a gift in you? Say thanks!!!