To say that my mother-in-law hates my tattoos would be an understatement. Loathes, despises, grieves over...that's more accurate. But one thing that I have realized about the one on my ankle especially, is that people are nosy. They want to know: is that your birthday? Is that one of your kids names? What does that mean? You see, the tattoo on my ankle is one that I got while training for the Chicago marathon last year and on the front it says Phil. 4:13 and on the back it says 26.2. Hubby and I got them together to not only remind ourselves of why we were running the marathon but that through Christ alone, we would be successful. We also wanted a forever reminder that we did something amazing together, as a team, and survived. So to have this embedded into my skin forever is a constant reminder to myself that God is always with me and will help me through anything but it has really turned into something else completely that I never could have imagined. It is also a witnessing tool. The last three times I've gotten my toenails done, the technician has asked me about that tattoo. "Is that your birthday?" "No, it's a scripture verse." "Scripture?" "Yes, from the Bible. It says that I can do anything through Christs' strength." "OH...you believe in Bible?" "Yes I do, very much so."
One time I even was able to get out of my technician that he goes to a Buddhist church in my town and how hard it is for those who attend because my town is predominantly Christian. We got to talk about Buddha and how he's different from Christ but it's really hard to get them to open up about much more. I don't know if it's so ingrained into their culture to be cautious talking about God or if they get so many people talking to them about it that they shut down. What I do know is that I will continue to get my toes done, I will continue to tell people about this scripture and what it means for me, and I will forever be thankful that I chose it. God is surprising in what He uses to get His message to people and if that means it's something that is loathed by my mil, then that's okay. She my hate my body art, but she loves me and she loves God and that's the bigger picture.
And yes, I love her too! :)
Has God surprised you in ways that He gets His message out there?
