A Little Ink with Big Significance

Often when I meet someone new they are surprised to find out that I would be someone who has a tattoo...nonetheless, (now) 8!  I often hear, "I just didn't picture you as someone who would have a tattoo."  It's definitely something of my generation and it is for sure addicting for me. Funny thing is, I remember telling my sister just after she was out of high school and she was talking about wanting to get a tattoo, "I just don't think I could find anything I'd want on my body for life."  Hmm...guess I was wrong!!

Well, a couple of weeks ago I got not just one new tattoo, but two!  My tattoo guy (at Electric Dragonland in Hopkins-who's amazing!) charges by time and neither of these took long so it made sense to do them both at once. And now I want to show them off!  (And in case you're wondering, yes, they both hurt to get.  But, it's always worth it!)

So, here's tattoo #1...

Yep, that's Minnie Mouse!  (Behind my left ear.). This tattoo is in honor of my aunt Colleen, who passed away this past fall from ovarian cancer. Colleen loved Disney and really fueled my love for all things Disney as well. The teal in Minnie's bow is representative of the color for ovarian cancer (thanks to the suggestion of my pal D!). Colleen was a huge part of my life and will always hold a large piece of my heart. We had a special bond and she taught me so much and was so special to me. I am excited to have Minnie Mouse with me each day to remind me that Colleen will be with me always. 

And tattoo #2...

It says, "He will wipe every tear..."  This comes from the verse in Revelation 21:4 which reads, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  This verse has become rather significant to me, especially over the last year or so.

I have lived with some form of chronic pain since the age of 5. It started with migraines at that time, added some back pain after a fall off my loft in college, and then being diagnosed with fibromyalgia around the age of 25 or so (I can't really remember). For many years I was able to kind of pretend it didn't affect me much but over the last several years that has changed. My level of widespread pain has greatly increased over the last several years and can be affected by so many different things. The way many describe the pain is to imagine you have a bad case of the flu...those intense body aches and difficulty doing anything...that's what it feels like at times. Over the last couple of years I have played around with diet, exercise, essential oils...many different things and have found small periods of relief but no great answer.  When you become so used to pain, you forget how to tell if your pain level has changed in any way. In the end, I will continue to play around with these things, but I also know that this may be something that I will wrestle with until my last day on this earth. BUT...when I reach heaven, God himself will be right there wiping my tears and I will have a heavenly body that doesn't hurt anymore and there won't be any more crying or mourning or death...things will be the way they are meant to be!!  People who say death is a natural part of life, it's not...we were created to live forever and to live in communion with God, but the fall changed all of that. That's why death and pain suck. We weren't created for any of it, but through it all, God is right there. God will give me the strength to get through things on this earth and will help me see His blessings along the way. This tattoo is a reminder for me, on those days that are just hard to get through, that one day, God Himself will be there wiping my tears and all of that pain and sorrow will be done.