The Beauty of God's Plan (and an edit)

Three years ago, I'd walk by the little play yard positioned smack dab in the center of the mall and shudder.

Two years ago, I'd walk by the same play yard and feel so empty and broken. I felt so hopeless. Why couldn't I just have a baby?

Last year, I walked past the play yard and squeezed my tiny baby closer to my chest. It would be forever before my little squeakbox would be old enough to play there.

Today, Cohen squealed with delight as we aproached that same play yard. He walked right in and got down to the business of playing.

And I had to just take a minute and thank God for His plan. I haven't understood it most of the time. I haven't liked it some of the time. But it has been perfect and good for me all of the time. 

I smile when I think about what this play yard will mean to me next year.

God is good, y'all. He provides exactly what I need exactly when I need it. Cohen's passenger in the picture below? That little boy and his mama are proof. During a time when I needed a friend, God provided in abundance. And maybe I'm just in a mushy mood today, but I am thankful and feel very blessed.

I mean, how can your heart not turn to mush when you've got this in your life?

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And for this week's Edit Me Challenge, one of my favorite photographers is the contributer and judge (eeek! So nervous!).

Here's the image SOOC:

And here's my edit:

And now you're going to want to know what I did, aren't you? Of course you are. I really need to get in the habit of recording my steps because, frankly, I don't really remember what I did.

I cropped the image slightly to make the bottom of the photo a little cleaner. Then I increased the clarity and sharpened the image a tad. Next I increased the exposure a little and turned the photo black and white, playing with the levels until I found what I liked. Finally, I softened the image to create a hazy feel (looks like that's the theme in my edits. Apparently, I like things to be hazy.).



And here's the side-by-side comparision: