Okay guys, yes its true...I have a tattoo. Some of y'all are thinking "Duh! You've had it for a while now." Which is very true, but some may not have known that. While in Ireland for the month of February, a few (okay like half the group) of my friends and I decided to make memories and all get tattoos together. I have wanted one for a while now, but was planning on waiting for a little to actually commit to one. I mean, it is a pretty big commitment! But, when your in another country and your friends are doing it, it kind of seems like a perfect time, right? (peer pressure at its finest). If I was planning on getting one someday anyways, why not now?? I was surrounded by people I loved, on a trip of a lifetime during the best year of my life...needless to say, it was the perfect time to. SO I DID IT, and I haven't regretted it since!! I know that tattoos are a very controversial topic and if this offends you in any way feel free to stop reading. But, I am happy with mine and do not feel like I have committed a sin in getting inked.
Okay so now that you know the setting and where I got it, let me explain the meaning because it holds a lot in my heart. I got the words "set apart" in my mothers handwriting on my right forearm. In Leviticus 20:26 it states, "You are to be holy, for I, The Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from the nations to be my very own." Growing up, I always felt different from the world, almost like I didn't really fit in. I knew there was something in me unusual from the rest. One week at church camp, I expressed the way I was feeling. Someone spoke over me, declaring the I was set apart from the world, and that it was okay that I didn't fit in to the norm...God had made me this way. Ever since then, the words set apart appeared in my life everywhere. Other people would tell me the same thing, I would hear it in church often or read it in my Bible. I had been declared set apart. It didn't always mean that I liked being this "set apart girl" because I thought it meant that I was the odd ball (or weird one). But then I had a realization that God had truly called me to be different-not like the world. He calls all of us who believe in Him to stand out. It is okay to be different, in fact He tells us to. We are called to be IN the world, but not OF the world. That is what it meant for me to be set apart. I spoke those words over my life and accepted the challenge.
These words are something that I treasure, and find my identity in, so that is why I got it inked on my skin. And when people ask about what it means, I am able to share exactly what I wrote above, and about my sweet Jesus. I contemplated getting the verse reference, but decided it would be a better ministry opportunity, because people were more likely to ask what it means than what the verse said.
I love my tattoo, and would not change getting it for anything. I respect those who do not plan on getting one for religious reasons, but that doesn't change my view on them. I also think that you should respect your parents view on tattoos. The Bible says to “honor your mother and father” and if your parents have a different view on them than you would like, I still think you should honor that. I asked my parents permission about getting one before I decided, and they gave me the okay (plus, how could my mom say no for me getting one in her handwriting?!). If they had told me no, I would have respected that. If you have any questions about my views, feel free to email or comment below. I would love to answer!!
