Capture Your Grief-Day 20

CAPTURE YOUR GRIEF 2012 Photography Project 

for October-Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Day 20: Charity/Organization 

October 20, 2012 ♥

Day 20. Charity/Organization: Share your favorite charity or organization that has touched your heart on this road of grief. If you don’t have a photograph to share, just simply post the link to their website!

There are so many places that have blessed me in my healing after losing Lily. I thought of making a collage of my favorites, but figured that instead I would choose the one that stands out in my heart. NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep) is a nonprofit organization that offers free professional portraiture photography to those experiencing infant loss. It is a beautiful gift of remembrance. Anyone who has lost a baby can tell you how precious and sacred photos of and with their baby are. They are priceless treasures that could never be replaced. They are proof that our babies were real. They were here. They are beautiful. Unfortunately, when I had Lily, I didn't know about NILMDTS, so I don't have these gorgeous photos. I am truly thankful for the pictures that I do have because I realize some have none or very low-quality photos. But, I know it will be something I wish I had for my entire life. It is something you can never go back and do over, which is why I try to share about this wonderful organization as much as possible to get the word out. Though of course I hope nobody needs this service, I want them to know about it if it does happen. Please remember it for yourself if you ever need it or for someone you know. A big reason why I am making hospital comfort boxes to donate to the hospital where Lily was born is to inform people about NILMDTS.

Another place that has really blessed me is Molly Bears, a nonprofit organization that makes weighted bears for families who have lost a baby. So many who have lost a baby know what the phrase "empty arms" feels like. Molly Bears makes free custom-made bears, weighted to what a baby weighed at birth. You can feel what your baby felt like again when you hold one of these bears. Though you forget so many things as time marches on, Molly Bears helps families to remember what it felt like to hold their precious baby. It makes the ache a little less. It reminds grieving parents that their baby had true physical weight in this world, which reflects the lasting weight they left, the footprints on the hearts of many.

The other places that have helped me heal on this journey of grief are Carly Marie Project Heal (everything she does is beautiful and amazing!), Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope, Still Standing Online Magazine, Sufficient Grace Ministries, Small Bird Studios, and all the other places that have reached out to me, expecting and asking for nothing in return. So many places have honored Lily's life with me and it means more to me than words could ever express. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all these places and many more.

-To see all of my photos from the photography project, click here.

-To share your own photos on the event page and to see the lovely photos others are sharing, click here.