By the look of those two words, some might raise an eyebrow and ask, “Say what?” That’s right, I have tattoos, and I call myself a Christian. I know not everyone will agree with me; there are other Christians who don’t believe that a person should mark themselves in any way. I won’t be getting into the scripture in the Bible about tattoos; that’s something people can always look up in their own free time. I’m giving you my personal reasons on why I love tattoos.

First off, I am a devout Christian who believes the main purpose of life is to love others and share God’s word. For me, I currently only have one tattoo on my wrist. It’s an infinity sign with the word faith, three sparrows in various sizes and the scripture James 1:2-3. This tattoo has a lot of meaning for me. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” This has multiple meanings for me, but I will say that it has everything to do with having joy in times of struggle. Over time, you will grow to conquer it, because you build up endurance to persevere through it all. I want to always have strong faith, even when I go through my own trials of life. The sparrows represent, from the oldest to the youngest: my late grandmother, my mother and my little sister. It reminds me of my family in the sense that we try to remain strong even when life gets tough by having faith and being joyful in it.

I have a lot of tattoos that I want to get. For example, I want to get a cross on the back of my neck, which I will be getting over spring break. I want to get some lyrics from the song “Oceans” by Hillsong. I want to get tattoos that I have thought about for some time before permanently putting them on my body. It has to have meaning behind it. Tattoos aren’t for others, but for myself. I choose to have it on my body, because every time I look, I’ll remember why I got it. I want something that I won’t regret; my God is someone that will always be a part of who I am.

Don’t get me wrong, I know some people will just get whatever they like — that’s their choice. I just would never get a tattoo on a whim. There needs to be time and thought for each of mine. For the most part, I’m planning on getting tattoos that all focus on my spiritual faith in God. I don’t want to just get a heart because it looks cute. I want something that brings meaning and gives visual aids to my personal story and testimony of faith.

There’s a story behind each tattoo. It’s not that I’m following society with wanting to get one; I see beautiful art behind them that reflects each individual. People around me might look at my tattoo and ask questions about it. To me, that’s a great time to share my beliefs and the history behind why I got it to begin with. It’s great to have a conversation on my tattoos, so I can lend words to the Gospel. I don’t believe that my tattoos are necessarily the living scripture, but it helps for me to show others to God. They can take it or leave it, but it’s why I love getting my tattoos. It lets me explain my story in a way that can help someone else. This is a topic that I know can get backlash on from many others, because they will pull out the Bible in a negative tone. I won’t be condemning anyone who has tattoos, because that’s not my judgement — I have one myself.

At the end of it all, I know that God loves me. I’m a tattooed Christian who loves to share her story with everyone around her through her tattoos. I have seen some sick art from other Christians who have them. It’s beautiful, but never will I let it completely define me as a person. I use my tattoos as a way to illustrate my story, but my story comes from my own words and experiences. You might see a tattoo on my body, but my story is defined through my words and my life. That story was redefined by my faith in God and who he is.