And then a few years ago, a verse I'd always relied on to settle my soul came to mind again.
Psalm 46:10. Be still and know that I am God.
It didn't matter what chaos surrounded me externally or what chaos swirled internally, those simple words worked. Every time. They are true and they are powerful to me. And so it became my mantra. Be still. Be still. Be still. Sometimes it was a whisper to quiet my mind and sometimes it came as a stern command. Like, "Knock it off with the worrying!"
Either way it was and is a part of my inner dialogue.
It was the only thing that I could imagine with me permanently. So it developed from there.
My dad has the best handwriting. It's font-worthy. I wanted it in his handwriting. He has always been a calming presence in my life. A beautiful example of that verse.
I wanted it someplace that was meaningful. Along my hairline, going into my ear. A whisper or a command.
I never wanted a tattoo to remind me of something or someone. I never wanted a tattoo to commemorate anything. If I was going to have a tattoo, it needed to be something that was already a part of me. And this is.
So, it came to be the tattoo I never thought I would want.
Before Christmas this year, Chad mentioned getting tattoos for each other as gifts. I just laughed cause he has never really talked about getting a tattoo so I thought he was joking. He made it through the Navy and deployments without getting a tattoo, which is rare. But, he wasn't joking and he had a good idea of what he wanted so I said, sure and just like that we joined the ever growing ranks of the tatted.
I don't have any desire to get another one and Chad has said the same, but I'm wondering if I could convince him to keep going on up his shoulder and down his arm...
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