A tattoo is a personal and permanent mark on the body. It can be an elaborate design or a simple word. A tattoo can be seen as a blemish to some or a work of art to others. And depending on your beliefs, it can also be seen as so much more.

I have a love for tattoos. I am THAT CHRISTIAN that some look at, and yes, judge. I had a few tattoos prior to becoming Born Again. For those of you who don’t know me, I see marking my body forever as a sentiment of love. My tattoos all have significant meaning. Some are of Divine nature, and others are for my children and my Mother. I feel good knowing I have endured a little pain for those whom I want to keep with me always. I have something beautiful to symbolise their life within my heart. 

Tattoos are not for everyone. My Mom never wanted one. But the one thing she never did was judge me. Yes, I was her daughter, but she wouldn’t have judged you either. And Why? My Mom knew that a person’s heart and intentions were determined by God. No person has the understanding of another’s truth. Yes, I said truth. We all know the heart can be deceiving. We know how we say one thing, yet mean another. Nothing is hidden from God. He already knows. He knows exactly how you feel, and He knows what you mean by your actions and words. He understands what we cannot understand about ourselves. 

With that said, let me explain something. When I first became saved, I believed that tattoos were not a good thing. I did not regret the tattoos I already had; I just decided that I should not get another, since I read that marking your body was unclean or wrong. Leviticus 19:28 is an example of a verse that I took to mean I was doing something wrong. I found many verses that continued to establish my fear of failure. I am NOT faulting the Word of God. I am faulting myself.

In my first 5 years, I was afraid I would do something that would cause God to punish me. I didn’t believe He would forsake me, but I worried He would teach me a lesson. I had come to the conclusion that I needed to make myself as clean as possible, since I was so dirty when He took me in. Now, for those of you who do know me, you know I tend to take things very seriously or to the extreme when they are meaningful to me. I wanted to please God so badly that I gave away all my pants and wore only skirts. I threw out all my makeup. I would not even trim my hair. I had a nice car that I did not want to drive because I wasn’t sure how it made me feel. I wanted to prove to God that all I wanted was to please Him.