H is for...

hospital...which is who called me tonight. I had had the strangest premonition about it all day. I just knew that the calls were going to start rolling in...and they did. Tonight was frustrating for me because as area coordinator it is my job to find a photographer to fill the needs of these hospitals as they arise. Normally, I jump at the Northwest calls because they are right here by me...SO much closer than TMC or UMC. But tonight I had two children with fevers, a trip to pack for and a new camper to pack for tomorrow's trip. Besides all that, I had no car because mine was hooked up to the new camper and Chris' car was down at the bank where we met up this afternoon. So there was that huge difficulty. So I started calling my photographers. Now...one is very wonderful and reliable and awesome. She is my co-coordinator and handles as many calls as I do....juggles her schedule totally for it like I do and just makes it happen...like I do. I think we are kindred spirits! But tonight, she was not available. I did not get an answer on any of her phones...which is unusual. So I called my next gal. She informed me that it jsut was not really convenient...as she was in her p.j.s already. So...okay. She is in her p.j.s. I am in my clean out the camper clothes (those will definitely have to be changed to go to the hospital), Oh...and there's that little issue of not having a vehicle to drive. Not to mention the feverish children and the fact that this call came SMACK in the middle of the bedtime routine. Talking to me about not being real convenient? NOT such a good idea right then. My other two photographers are both pregnant...NOT sending them. So....that left ME! I got Chris' mom to come and pick me up and drive me to the bank to get his car...then I headed on down to the hospital to meet with this family. Turns out to be a young, sweet couple. Just wonderful. First baby. At 28 weeks, went in for a routine checkup and there were no heart tones. Just like that. Little Thomas was gone. Before he ever took his first breath. The couple was just beyond devestated and the mom was just desperate to hang on to this little guy and to have every moment possible with him. I saw the look of panic in her eyes when the nurse suggested she get some sleep. And my heart broke for her when I heard her launch into her pleas to see her baby boy again in the morning and could she hold him again tomorrow and see him first thing? And I know that that mom will treasure these pictures of her little man forever. She will love them and adore them and cling to them like a lifeline through the healing process. And then after all of the frustration, I was SO glad that I made it down there. And that I got to be the one to capture those images for her. I don't have any to post here tonight because I promised my Chris that I wouldn't process and edit them until we get back next week. So that will have to wait. But I will sleep better tonight knowing that that mom will have these pictures to look on years from now. That she won't have to worry about forgetting his little face or how he looked...because I captured it in a dozen different angles for her. I'm glad that I worked it out and that I was "inconvenienced" enough to share the night with this family. I'm so thankful for this talent and for this calling on my life. In the midst of all of the chaos and business it was a stark reminder of reality. And that our mighty God has a plan for all of us. Old or young. Big or small. He is in control and sees the huge picture that we only see the tiniest glimpses of. So tonight, I will go to bed so very thankful for the fact that my God is so big and SO awesome, so merciful and so gentle, SO powerful...and so very good.