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Even though there are great post ideas in the Daily Prompt, I rarely do them because my brainpower, much like my hand-eye coordination during timed video games, is a tad…sluggish… By the time I complete a daily prompt, it’s weeks later and anyone who did the prompt or the challenge has moved on. But this one caught my eye, because in May of this year, I wrote about why I wanted a tattoo. So for those of you who missed it, here it is again…only this time, I’ve included a picture of the final product so you don’t have to wait until the next day! To check out other “tattoo” posts and pictures, click here.
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To those who would criticize my decision to get a tattoo:
This is a deeply personal decision. Please try to understand that, for me, this is not:
- A crazy, mid-life crisis or hormonal thing. Over time I have carefully considered the pros and cons, the opinions of those closest to me, my reputation, and what sort of example I would be setting for others.
- An act of rebellion. Defying gravity while attempting to walk gracefully in 4″ heels is rebellion. I passed the sullen, moody teenager stage a long (long) time ago, and even when I was there, my “rebellious days” didn’t provide any material for an after-school T.V. special (with the exception of having a baby at 16 – that wasn’t rebellion. That was insecurity)!
- A hasty decision. I have thought long and hard for years, not just about whether to get a tattoo, but where to get a tattoo and what it would be. This is permanent, unlike hair dye and jeggings, so I can’t do it on a whim. A whim would be “Yes, I do want fries with that?”
- To be part of the “in” crowd. I listened to my mother when she asked me, “If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you jump off too?” but I have to say, I don’t have that many friends, and those I do have, have never suggested I jump off any bridges. Maybe I chose my friends wisely!
- Just a decoration that I will some day regret. It would be an identifying mark filled with meaning, an expression of who I am.
Figuring out who I am will take a lifetime, so instead I considered what I most value and chose a symbol to represent that value. I chose a cross because it is the identifying mark of a Christ follower, and my faith means everything to me. The cross was both an instrument of torture and the greatest expression of love. John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 3:16 was the first verse I learned as a kid – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
I also didn’t want a design that was pretty…I wanted a design that was as hard as…well, nails! I want it to be an outward display of my lifelong commitment.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14
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