A Visit to the Tattoo Parlor (w/video)

A Visit to the Tattoo Parlor
November 26, 2010
by Joel Comm
JoelComm.com

nce upon a time I said that I would never get a tattoo on my body. I didn't object to others getting one. They just weren't for me.
Besides I'm allergic to pain. I break out in screaming.
That's why no one was more surprised than I when the idea came to me just a little over a month ago. I was making my "bucket list" and the idea of having a tattoo suddenly seemed possible.
And the time was right. The last few years have found me smack-dab in the middle of several very painful experiences. I am usually pain-averse. But good things can happen when we examine pain in our lives. And through this pain, I remembered something very important that I had forgotten. I thought a tattoo would help me to keep this truth in the forefront of my mind on a daily basis. After all, if it was visible and I would see it every day, I would have to be super, extra dense to not remember. (Yes, I have moments of super density.)
I told a friend about my idea. After he got done laughing at me he suggested that I wait thirty days before doing anything. After all, a tattoo was permanent. Waiting thirty days would give me time to really think about it. That way it wouldn't just be an impulsive tattoo, but something that I really wanted to do.
I told him I wasn't in a hurry and that I could most certainly wait thirty days or more if needed.
I spent time examining my motives. They were pure.
Thirty days later my motives had not changed. I knew that I really wanted to do this. At the ripe age of forty-six years old I was going to permanently mark my body with a Scripture verse that had really become my life verse.
As I write this, the wound from the tattoo is still fresh. So is the reason I did it in the first place. It's my hope and prayer that the message will be just as fresh to me every time I see the tattoo, as well as when someone asks me about it.
The artist at the shop didn't wish to be filmed, but my daughter did capture some of the process. By the miracle of modern technology, I invite you to the tattoo parlor where I became a "marked man."

What do you think? Do you like it? It has definitely grown on me... pun intended.
For those who don't have a Bible handy, here's what 2 Corinthians 5:17 says...
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Do you have a tattoo? If so, what is it and what does it mean to you? If not, would you ever consider getting one?