Stories in Ink....

Those of you who know me well would agree that I easily could have been voted "least likely to get a tattoo" several years ago.  My my my, how things have changed! 

It all started after my very first "all-clear" scan report back in 2011.   I was thinking about a post I made earlier related to John Piper's article "Don't Waste Your Cancer."  I was thinking about the lessons I had learned on my journey.  I was thinking about things that were too easily forgotten when the road got tough.  I was thinking that I never wanted to forget to be thankful. You've heard of the book "One Thousand Gifts," by Ann Voskamp?  Well, my list of blessings went waaaaay beyond one thousand.  I decided that my first tattoo would be the one word that I wanted to remember in all circumstances, in the good and the bad, when I was feeling confident and when I was feeling like my world was unraveling.  My first tattoo is kanji for "Gratitude."  

Then came my next "all-clear" milestone in 2012.  This time, I wanted a permanent reminder to stay positive and not lose hope.  Proberbs 31:25 says "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she LAUGHS without fear of the future."  It doesn't say "She accepts her fate" or "She is content with her circumstances."  It says "She LAUGHS!"  ...and not only does she laugh, but she does it without fear of the future. We're not talking about a nervous chuckle, or a schoolgirl giggle, we're talking about a laugh that swells up from deep in your soul and overflows for the world to hear.  That, my friends, is pure joy.  

Now, as I face another bump in the road, what is it that I want to remember?  What will help remind me to remain strong, grounded and joyful?  What will remind me to always set my sights on the Heavens above?   I think of thes words from The Wisdom Of The Sands  “The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.” Thoughts of a very special tree at my parents house kept coming to mind.  I spent countless hours as a child in the shadow of that tree and now I watch as my boys play under that same tree. The sounds of laughter and squeals of delight can be heard across the yard when all the cousins are together, chasing each other around the trunk and the branches always make a good hiding spot for Easter eggs.  The dogs relax in the shade while my family sits and catches up on eachother's lives, remembering childhood stories while creating new memories every time we are together.   This tree reaches for the heavens even when storms threaten to strip it's leaves and snap it's branches.  Through it all, the laughter and the storms, this tree stands tall. My third tattoo is a rendition of that tree - branches reaching for the sky, roots firmly grounded.

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He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” ~Jeremiah 17:8.