Tattoo

            I think a lot of people in my generation would agree that tattoos are considered art. Our parents may roll their eyes, but we know better, kids ALWAYS know better than their parents- it’s a given. Having said that, I plan on getting tattoos- I feel they are a sentiment of my faith- my art- siness, and just a side effect of living in Flagstaff. I start this off whimsically, because I want to share a bit about a tattoo I’ve been planning on getting in an “easy- to- hide- but- not- sexy” place either above my knee or on my meaty bicep. I actually have a total of 3 tat ideas (because you can’t just have one) but this tat is probably the most significant one to me. So grab yo tissues, Fluff, cause this is gonna make you cry, and not just because I’m planning to permanently engrave on my epidermis.

            When I was getting ready for my high school/ community college graduation, I received a special letter from my mom. What made this letter “special” was because my mom died when I was nine years old from cancer. I tell this story, not to dampen your spirits or to encourage a long message telling me ALL about how knowing this about me makes you feel such and such ways. I tell you this because whether I want to admit it or not, this event has shaped most of my life since. One thing that I have come to realize through Christ is that in the scope of His story, this major event in my life is miniscule.

            My pastor brought this up last Sunday, and I think that it is a great illustration of what I mean. In 1873, Horatio G. Spafford wrote the famous hymn: “It is Well With My Soul” after losing all his money in the great Chicago Fire, as well as his four daughters to a shipwreck. In the second- to last verse he wrote:

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

            Whether or not I find myself in unfavorable circumstances, the Good News of Christ should always be my comfort- my goal. My soul rests, not because of earthly comforts, but because of Jesus. Therefore whether I prosper or suffer, my soul is always well because the Lord has redeemed it from this fallen world. If Spafford could say that it was well with his soul after such extenuating circumstances, how can I, who have the unconditional love and support of 2 parents on earth, and 1 parent in the safety of heaven’s gates, can I dwell on the earthly loss of the later?

            In the letter from my mom, there is a particular line that will always be significant to me: “… when you have Christ it’s “See ya later” not “goodbye” that you say.” Even though I only knew my mother for the first 9 years of my life- half of which she spent sick with cancer, I cannot, and refuse to, mourn the years “lost,” because in the scope of eternity, most of the time I spend knowing my mother will be spent in a place where there is no sickness. This line, written when I was only seven years old, is in her handwriting, and I am getting it tattooed on my body. The funny thing is, I know she’d hate it if I got a tattoo, but when I see her again, I doubt she’ll be able to scold me about it- because I’m sure it wont be on my new body. But it will stand as a reminder in this harsh world, of my future and hope. It is a reminder of God’s love for me, because I know, somewhere in a heavenly log cabin, my mother waits to hang out with me, and in the meantime, in a log cabin in Show Low (YOLO) AZ, I have two equally loving parents, who are there to guide me through the hardships of this life.

            I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I don’t mourn the loss of my mom. It’s still a sad topic. But the joy of Christ is so much bigger and significant in the scope of eternity, that there is no other way I can possibly introduce it to the world. My mom’s death was sad, but I can’t leave it there, because it is not a tragedy- it is a victory and it is well with my soul.