Ink

A little over a month ago, I got my second tattoo.  I really like tattoos, even if they are not necessarily something I would get because there is always a story.  Recently, at the Taste of St. Louis I saw a guy whose entire face was decorated with tattoos.  My first thought was, "OUCH!" and my second, "I want to know those stories."  Why did he get them on his face?  What do they mean?  Are they for someone special?  Are they spirtual?  Are they a drunken mistake?  A dare?  Whether they are meaningful or a regret he has, there is a story there and I love a good story.

Not only do I love to hear a good story, I love to tell my stories.  Today, as I sit listening to Ludovico Einaudi play some beautiful tunes on the piano, I thought it would be nice to tell the meaning behind my two tattoos.  Disclaimer:  If you hate tattoos, I'm sorry.  You do not have to get one but my opinion on them is that they are cool and harmless.

Last December, Kyle got me my first tattoo for my Christmas gift.  For my first tattoo, I wanted something for my husband.  His first tattoo he got is my name (in my handwriting) on his arm.  So, it only seemed right to return the favor.  Ink for ink.  I thought about what I would get and where I would get my first tattoo for a really long time.  The place came to me first:  The top of my shoulder.  I was traveling to New Mexico and saw a girl with a tattoo on the top of her shoulder and instantly I knew that was where I wanted mine.

I was so excited to tell Kyle that I at least knew where I wanted the tattoo.  I just had to figure out what I wanted to get.  I thought about our wedding date, 04.30.11, but I just don't like the way those numbers look together.  Had I had more options of dates, trust me, we would have gotten married on a more symmetrical date.  My whole life I really pictured a November wedding, but when you are getting married to a chiropractic student, you get married on one of his two week breaks.  My options were April or August and who was I kidding; I couldn't wait until August to marry my best friend.

Finally, one day as I was thinking of things that are sentimental to the two of us, I thought of a song by Coldplay that was one of our songs when we were dating.  The song is Kingdom Come and it's a beautiful song.  The chorus goes a little like this, "For you I'd wait, til Kingdom Come.  Until my day, my day is done.  Say you'll come and set me free.  Just say you'll wait.  You'll wait for me."  This song was one we'd listen to together and one he would play on guitar as I sang to it.  On the inside of his wedding band (if it's not completely worn off) are the words, "Til Kingdom Come."  It's so simple yet it's really the core of a marriage.  For better or worse, til death do us part.  For me, til kingdom come is special because of our faith and belief that one day Jesus will come back and take all of His followers to Heaven to spend eternity with him.  (By the way, explaining this tattoo to a 9 year old Catholic Private schoolgirl is super tricky.)

So, I decided on getting "Til Kingdom Come" and I love seeing it and remembering so many things.  I remember us listening to that song, us playing that song, us planning our wedding, us getting married, the way he looked when I walked down the aisle, our first dance, our drive to Missouri, and the vows we took to love each other until the very end.

My first ink.  

Ask just about anyone who has gotten a tattoo before and they will most likely tell you the same thing:  After the first you get this tattoo craving and just want more and more.  Needless to say, I wanted another one right after getting my first one, but tattoos also cost money.  Ugh, I know right?  Greedy tattoo artists.  Not too long after getting my first tattoo I told Kyle that I wanted to get a Bible verse or something having to do with my faith before we move from St. Louis because I really like the shop I got my first one at and I really liked the artist. 

A couple months ago, I was reading my Bible and journaling, with my next tattoo designed and settled on.  The passage that I was supposed to read that day was from Matthew 6.  I was reading this passage and got to verse 25 and thought, "Okay, God.  I know what you are doing.  You are trying to tell me something here and it's not the first time."  You see, I'm a worrier; to a fault.  It's bad.  I think I get it from my grandma which is terrible because I always ask her, "Does worrying help anything?" when I should be saying the very same thing to myself.  I was really hit by this passage, even though it's about the 1,000th time I've read it.  The whole passage is great, but verse 26 just really puts everything into perspective.  It says, "²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

I love birds, but I believe I can safely say most people could care less about birds.  But, I believe I can also safely say that people care a great deal about people; especially those they love.  I can say the same for God.  For 25 years He has provided for me, cared for me, and sheltered me.  Why after 25 years would He just suddenly stop as if to say, "Okay, little girl, your on your own now."  That's just not the nature of God.  In that moment, I said to myself, "You are ridiculous.  Seriously, the birds are provided for by God, why wouldn't you be?  Why do you worry yourself sick over things that you cannot control?  Do your best and work hard, and God will take care of it all."  It was after that when I decided to change my tattoo idea and get Matthew 6:26 to be a constant reminder of how I need to trust God and not worry, for worrying really gets me nowhere.

After deciding on my tattoo, I decided to get it on my neck.  For aesthetic purposes, I wanted it somewhere that would be pretty but that I could also cover up if I didn't want it shown for some reason.  I also love birds and thought it was rather fitting to have some with the verse due to it being about birds.  

I suffer from headaches (some that I do not contribute to) and others that often come from worry and stress.  Before it starts to get really bad, I feel a lot of pain in my neck.  So, it only seemed fitting to have my next tattoo, a verse on not worrying, to be on my neck.  It's a great place because I'm very aware of my neck as I carry a lot of tension there throughout the day.  Anytime my neck is bothering me, whether it be from a long day or from a headache, I am reminded that even the birds are taken care of and to not worry.  I am not the best at not worrying and it is something that is difficult to just quit doing willy nilly, but I can honestly say that my tattoo is a wonderful tool in helping me remember all that I felt that day while I was reading the Bible.  

Ink Two.

So, those are my stories.  I hope to have many, many more.  If you have a tattoo, I'd also love to know the meaning behind it.