Tattoos

This is a long post...but it's got pictures. :)

Not a ton of people know this, but I've wanted a tattoo since high school.
I used to want a heart with a crown of thorns around it and flames coming up. Ha.

I talked myself out of it the same way everyone talks themselves/others out of it:
"But it's forever!"
"Your body is a temple!"
"Your body's going to change a lot! It won't look so good when you're 60 or after a couple kids!"
"What if your husband doesn't like it?"
"What if you get something that isn't meaningful to you later?"
"What if they don't let you have it where you work?"
"What if you become a burn victim and all that's left of you is a melting head on a stick?"

So...my answer to all that has been this:

I want something that will be meaningful to me my entire life...something that will never change, never exit my life, never become untrue. God, Scripture and spiritual truths are the only things that fit this description. Once I decide what I want, I'll then sit on it for several months or years to make sure that the desire doesn't wane over time. I'll get them in places on my body that won't change as much as I get older, and the ones that might change won't be in very visible places. As for a husband, if I ever get married again, my husband will love all of me. I'm sure if there was a deal breaker about me, tattoos would not be it. :) And...a melting head on a stick? You're disgusting.

So...what do I want? Scripture. I've tried to be careful to select verses that don't contain textual variants.
I knew if I got Bible verses, I'd want them in the original languages. Lots of people see Bible verses and are immediately turned off or make assumptions. A bit of text in a somewhat unrecognizable language becomes a conversation starter. If you can give a rationale for a tattoo, it also shows you can think. Always a bonus when engaging enquiring minds.

That being said, getting something in a language I don't personally read or write in is risky. I've heard dozens of stories of tattoo fails where people either stupidly use something like google translator or ask people for input after they've already gotten the tattoo. (If you used google translator for your tattoo, this is meant to be offensive. That was dumb.)
This is why I went to a dear friend who reads Biblical Greek and Hebrew and asked him to translate them for me. And also why I'm posting them online before I get them done. Vet away, Biblical Greek and Hebrew experts! :)

1. Ezekiel 37:5 in the original Hebrew on the inside of my left wrist.
"This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones, 'I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.' " (NIV)

From what I understand, it's read from right to left and is literally translated something like,

"Thus says

the Lord God

to bones these

Behold I am bringing/causing to enter

into you a spirit/wind

and you will come to life."

There's a TON going on in this passage. God takes Ezekiel, a Jewish prophet, into the wilderness during Israel's exile in Babylon. Ezekiel surveys a valley of skeletons, the site of an epic battle fought long ago. What is in this valley isn't just dead--it's dead a thousand times over. It's dead, yes, but it's also rotten, decayed, become dust, years have passed, it's in the sun in the middle of nowhere. This isn't just death--it's concentrated hopelessness. With this in mind, God asks Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?"....do we dare hope?

Israel is waiting to be restored to her promised land, and God reveals a profound and prophetic truth to Ezekiel. God isn't done with Israel even though she continually turned her back on her Lord. The bones of a rebellious nation will, indeed, come to life. Her future glory is not yet realized. Her bones will have breath, as will mine and all of us who put our hope in the Lord. Whether you're a believer in Christ or not, THAT is a cool story. :)

I also think it's profound to have a verse about God breathing life into bones over a rather important artery. :)

2. I Corinthians 13:7 in the original Greek on the inside of my right wrist.
"[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Or more literally translated,

"Love (agape)

All things bears,

All things believes,

All things hopes,

All things endures."

"Love" isn't in that verse originally (it's in a preceding verse) because the verse starts mid sentence, so it's placed at the top, almost like a title rather than as part of the sentence. It speaks about God's heart for us and what our hearts should be for each other.


3. Illuminated Manuscript Chi Rho


This one is going to be the biggest work in progress. Illuminated manuscripts are manuscripts that have some sort of ornate decoration that contains icons/embellishments of the time or enhances the text.

You know like in old storybooks that start with "Once upon a time..." but the O is really big and fancy and there are images of flowers or a prince and princess or something on the page making it look super ornate? Yeah, like that.

What I want are icons from old Bibles, though. I essentially want to make myself into an illuminated manuscript using icons from Byzantine/medieval illuminated manuscripts.

One image that I'm DYING to get is the Chi Rho from the manuscript the Book of Kells:

The Book of Kells is a Celtic medieval manuscript. This image has the heavily stylized Chi and Rho--the first two letters of Christ's name. ISN'T IT AMAZING??? *drool*

I'd want it on my left shoulder blade. If I did this, I'd want to put a lot of text on my back to accompany it--probably a big chunk of Bible verses. Thinking about the prologue to the book of John.

Since the Book of Kells is in latin, I'd have to choose between Greek and Latin.

Either way....I has a plan.