The Power of Photography

Yesterday I was in a mood. One of those moods where I just wanted to stay home and cry. I never cry anymore. There's NOTHING in my life to cry about. I can count on one hand the number of times I've cried since marrying Todd Craig. So its rare that I'm one of those "crying" moods.

Todd is in California for work this week and I had planned on going home, running for an hour and then doing some work around the house. Instead I came home and found one of the famous Todd signs that he loves to make.

From Picasa

This almost made me cry. Have I told you that I have the sweetest husband on earth? He hadn't been gone for 12 hours and I was already missing him when I walked in that door. Don't worry- he can spell. He calls me "bootifow" because he likes my booty. Sorry, TMI. He's gonna kill me for sharing but I don't care. I love bragging about how sweet he is!

Instead of grabbing my running shoes, I decided to grab a glass of wine. Thought I'd do a "bath" night with Jesus like I use to do. But for some reason I skipped the bath and got on my computer. I did some surfing and found a story about a baby that just died from anencephaly. The Bush family is from Beaumont, TX (where I'm from) and the story of baby Thomas just broke my heart.

From Picasa

I CRIED.

I looked at the Thomas Family blog and read about how they found out that their baby had this fatal disease in January. If you're like me and have no clue what Anencephaly is- it is the absence of a large part of the brain and skull. This disorder will 100% end in death. After looking up the disorder on Web MD, I then read about the family's decision to not abort but keep the baby even though they knew he would die shortly after birth. I read about the support of their family, friends and community. And then I read about their continued faith in God during these trying times.

THEN I CRIED MORE.

Then I came across a photographer who had the privilege of capturing the few hours that baby Thomas was alive. There is an 11 minute slideshow of those precious moments on Haute Photography Blog
You have to see these pictures.

THEN I LOST IT.

Then I saw this picture of a drawing that baby Thomas' 3 year old sister created for him. If I interpret it correctly, I think it says "Please have a safe way to heaven"

From Picasa

THEN I COMPLETELY LOST IT.

I don't know why I came across this story. Maybe it was just so I could pray for this family as they bury their newborn son today. Maybe it was so I could praise Jesus for all the healthy babies that are in my life. Or maybe it was a lesson on the power of photography. Through this photographer's blog and pictures, this family will now have documentation of Thomas' short life. Through photography, this story touched my soul and many around Southeast Texas and possibly around our country. Through photography, I got to see into one family's life and will now be lifting them up in prayer.

That is powerful.

That is amazing.

That makes me realize that this new hobby of mine can save the most precious and sacred moments life offers us. As a believer, I KNOW that there is power in prayer! And today I'm learning, there is power in photography!

Candice