What did you do on 10-10-10?

I know what I did.

I finally got my tattoo! (And no, I didn't purposely plan to get it on 10-10-10, but once I realized the date I thought that was just pretty much fantastic.) Now I'll never forget the date I got it done!

In case anyone remembers, this is the same tattoo I was going to get last spring. I figured since 7 months went by and I still wanted it just as much if not more so than before, then I really wasn't going to regret getting it. I have absolutely no regret! I feared I would which is why I was so hesitant beforehand, but once I saw how great it was going to look and after seeing the final result, "the rest of my life" didn't seem so haunting anymore.

The meaning and reasoning behind my tattoo also assures me that I'll never regret it. It's something I'll be able to grow old with and it will still remain relevant. There are several different things this tattoo represents to me but to be brief I'll just say that overall it reminds me of my relationship with God and how just like the Bible says, He is near to those who call on Him. That's something worthy of a daily reminder.

(in case it isn't clear in the photo, there is a bird flying in from the left toward a bird perched on a thin branch)

I know also that the opinion on tattoos, especially among Christians, is varied with all kinds of responses. I know that there will be some people who might read this and think that I did a terrible thing, or that I committed a sin. Trust me when I say that I've put all the thought and prayer into this that I could and this definitely wasn't a spur of the moment decision. I've actually wanted a tattoo on my wrist for the past 3 years and once I got the idea for this one, you can believe that I prayed about it ceaselessly for months upon months. I believe that the "rightness" or "wrongness" of getting a tattoo is a complete heart issue. God knows our hearts and if our motivations are pure and pleasing to Him, I honestly don't think He has anything against a tattoo. It's when you're being careless with your choices or when your heart motivations are off that I think it could be considered a sin against God.

I can say with certainty that I don't regret anything.

It was such an amazing day and I loved having two of my friends come with me- one to film and photograph the memory and the other to offer me a hand to squeeze (to death!). It actually didn't hurt as bad as I feared. Actually, the pain never scared me and the idea I had in my head of what it would feel like was pretty accurate to how it really felt. But there's something about those final minutes leading up to it that puts your insides into a straight knot! At about t-3 minutes and counting, suddenly my mind was imagining all the worst pain it could think of so that in the final 5-10 seconds before he started, I actually started to get teary-eyed and almost thought I would cry at how scared I was. But once he actually started doing it I thought, "Really?! That's it??" Of course there were a few spots that actually did hurt enough to make me catch my breath but it was over in less than 3 seconds each time. Unfortunately, I was squeezing my poor friend's hand so hard that not only did her fingers start to turn a slight shade of purple, but later that night my entire right arm, from the crook of my elbow down was torturous to move! I had such terrible muscle aches. Kind of funny that even though it was my left arm with the tattoo, the real pain I dealt with all night was from my other arm!