So I made an appointment to get a tattoo. I told my parents about it. My mom cried. My dad seemed pretty down about three seconds after I made the announcement. My mom will probably take the next ten years to get over it. But I'm excited about it. It's going to be small and tasteful and mean a lot to me. It's not like I'm getting a cupcake on my ankle. (If you have a cupcake tattooed on your ankle, I don't apologize. You're an idiot.) It's going to be on my wrist, and it will be a peace sign followed by the words "pass it on" followed by an icthus (Jesus fish). Why? A few reasons.
1. Peace is the way.
2. In a church service, we have a time for "passing of the peace" when we, traditionally, shake hands with those seated around us. This tattoo will be visible to those whose hands I shake.
3. "Pass it on" is the name of one of the first songs Jonathan taught us. It's about passing on God's love to those around you.
4. The fish has been a symbol of Christianity since the beginning. When it was illegal to be a Christian, one had to be rather secretive about whom one told one was a Christian. When meeting a stranger on the road, a Christian would stop to talk and "absentmindedly" make a crescent shape in the dirt. If the stranger was not a Christian, the stranger would probably not notice the action. If the stranger was a Christian, the stranger would make another crescent, forming the shape of the fish, and the two would then be safe to share stories of the Christ or places of meetings or safe havens. This early "secret handshake" illustrates the unity we have in faith.
The reason I am getting all three things in one place at one time is this: I believe that the only way to peace is through interfaith communication and understanding. We must pass this on to our neighbors and our future generations.
It's "funny" to me that my mother is so upset about it. It's really a generational thing. My mother thinks of tattoos as being for sailors and rock stars and people in jail. (If you were wondering, I am none of those things.) And I tried reasoning with her saying things like, "It's going to be very small" or "I will easily be able to hide it if I want to" [though the point of tattoos is for them to be seen] or "I'm not getting sleeves" and other reassuring things like that. And she was concerned that it was really unprofessional and that no one would ever hire me. I explained that plenty of young, professional women that I know have tattoos. Visible tattoos, stupid tattoos, and even small, tasteful wrist tattoos like mine will be! And do you know what she said? Incredulously, she asked, "Are any of them going to be pastors?"
That kind of shit pisses me off. No, mom, none of them are going to be pastors. And just because I am going to be a pastor doesn't mean that I can't do anything interesting. I have 12 piercings. I'm pretty sure that someone is going to notice my big fat industrial before they notice the pretty little words on my wrist. And if they don't want to hire me simply because of my body modifications, I probably don't want to work there anyway.
She says that kind of thing reasonably often. She makes references to my being a pastor in the future as like, my turning into Jesus in the future. Everything I ever do or say is a reflection on and a representation of the national Church and everything I believe as a Christian. Apparently. And apparently tattoos are not to be a part of that reflection and representation.
The Rev. Dr. Julia Lambert Fogg has a pierced nose and a tattoo on her wrist that says "xaris" (grace, in Greek). She has three post-graduate degrees. She's an ordained Presbyterian minister and the best religion professor at CLU. She's who I want to grow up to be -- in education, in faith, in elegance, and apparently in body modification.
I'll post a picture of my tattoo when I get it. :)
1. Peace is the way.
2. In a church service, we have a time for "passing of the peace" when we, traditionally, shake hands with those seated around us. This tattoo will be visible to those whose hands I shake.
3. "Pass it on" is the name of one of the first songs Jonathan taught us. It's about passing on God's love to those around you.
4. The fish has been a symbol of Christianity since the beginning. When it was illegal to be a Christian, one had to be rather secretive about whom one told one was a Christian. When meeting a stranger on the road, a Christian would stop to talk and "absentmindedly" make a crescent shape in the dirt. If the stranger was not a Christian, the stranger would probably not notice the action. If the stranger was a Christian, the stranger would make another crescent, forming the shape of the fish, and the two would then be safe to share stories of the Christ or places of meetings or safe havens. This early "secret handshake" illustrates the unity we have in faith.
The reason I am getting all three things in one place at one time is this: I believe that the only way to peace is through interfaith communication and understanding. We must pass this on to our neighbors and our future generations.
It's "funny" to me that my mother is so upset about it. It's really a generational thing. My mother thinks of tattoos as being for sailors and rock stars and people in jail. (If you were wondering, I am none of those things.) And I tried reasoning with her saying things like, "It's going to be very small" or "I will easily be able to hide it if I want to" [though the point of tattoos is for them to be seen] or "I'm not getting sleeves" and other reassuring things like that. And she was concerned that it was really unprofessional and that no one would ever hire me. I explained that plenty of young, professional women that I know have tattoos. Visible tattoos, stupid tattoos, and even small, tasteful wrist tattoos like mine will be! And do you know what she said? Incredulously, she asked, "Are any of them going to be pastors?"
That kind of shit pisses me off. No, mom, none of them are going to be pastors. And just because I am going to be a pastor doesn't mean that I can't do anything interesting. I have 12 piercings. I'm pretty sure that someone is going to notice my big fat industrial before they notice the pretty little words on my wrist. And if they don't want to hire me simply because of my body modifications, I probably don't want to work there anyway.
She says that kind of thing reasonably often. She makes references to my being a pastor in the future as like, my turning into Jesus in the future. Everything I ever do or say is a reflection on and a representation of the national Church and everything I believe as a Christian. Apparently. And apparently tattoos are not to be a part of that reflection and representation.
The Rev. Dr. Julia Lambert Fogg has a pierced nose and a tattoo on her wrist that says "xaris" (grace, in Greek). She has three post-graduate degrees. She's an ordained Presbyterian minister and the best religion professor at CLU. She's who I want to grow up to be -- in education, in faith, in elegance, and apparently in body modification.
I'll post a picture of my tattoo when I get it. :)