a marked woman

So I finally did it. After over 5 years of contemplation and on again/off again desire to get a tattoo, I finally got one. This is not a post to argue for or against getting tattoos. I think that there are valid arguments for and against, and it really just boils down to personal decision and conviction. 

This post is to tell why I got the tattoo that I did. Anyone who has spoken with me for any length of time (or who has read this blog before) probably knows that I usually think in the long-term which is helpful when considering getting something put on one's body permanently. The fact that I have chosen to do this show's how deeply I believe in what I have gotten. 

 
 

It is Hebrew for beautiful. If the title of my blog is any indication I am deeply interested in beauty, and I find beauty all around me. I love finding beauty in the ordinary and mundane because God is in the ordinary and mundane, and He is the altogether beautiful one. 

Something that I love about my job as a massage therapist is that through that journey I discovered beauty in everyone around me. I literally think that every single person who has ever lived and who will ever live is beautiful because each one bears the unique mark of a Creator who deeply loves them. I am humbled that I have been gifted to touch and care for the apple of God's eye, His people, who come in every shape and size.

I love the beauty of God's creation and the glory that He surrounds us with on a daily basis. I delight and glory in the fall colors and the spring flowers. But people, they are truly the greatest and most glorious of all God's creation. In people's souls is where true beauty lies.

As easy as it is for me to know and believe that every person is beautiful, that is a word that I have often struggled with in relation to myself. I did not believe for a long time that that word was meaningful when used toward me. There are few people who have ever called me beautiful, and even fewer whom I have believed when they have said it. I do not want anyone to think that this is a sob story or that I want pity. This has been a long journey for me, and it is one that I will continue to take as I go through life. 

Five years ago, I came to realize that I needed a permanent reminder that God calls me beautiful. That was when I first began to think that I would like to have this tattoo. Someday my children will ask me what it means, and I will get to tell them this story of beauty. I will get to tell them how God made every person beautiful.

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