Up until recently, I was raised to believe that all forms of body alterations were sinful. This included tattoos of all kinds, and for the longest time this discouraged me from getting a tattoo. I had no desire to get any tattoos, and I was fine with that.
As I have stated in almost all of my articles thus far, my life was forever changed when I started going to college. Before, I did not see many Christians with tattoos, and those that I did see told me they regretted it. Naturally, I was shell shocked to discover that a large portion of my peers at school had tattoos, and were very proud of them. I was actually able to witness a guy on my hall showing off his new tattoo, and it was fascinating for me to see how he used it as a testimony of his belief. Then something happened that I never thought possible.
I started wanting a tattoo. My life had altered dramatically, and I was becoming a new person. My relationship with God was growing stronger, and I was beginning to not be afraid of people. I thought that it would be great to show this to others around me.
The idea of the semicolon tattoo was one that came to me because of best friend's roommate. She had gotten one, and it looked amazing. I loved the simplicity of it, and the unique message of depression awareness. My struggles with depression is a part of my testimony, and I knew that a semicolon tattoo would reflect that nicely.
The semicolon tattoo, however, is a very popular choice, and I wanted to be unique. I knew that somehow I had to show I am not alone in my battle, that Jesus is my cure. After many design alterations, I decided to have the semicolon and a cross together, with the cross being larger in size. This shows that Jesus is greater than my depression.
I've only had my tattoo for a little over a week, but I am so glad to have gotten it. It serves as a daily reminder for me of God's grace and love, and the healing I have received through Him. I am proud to display my tattoo for anyone to see, and am glad to answer questions about it.
I do not think we should get tattoos just because they look cool. I am not condemning meaningless tattoos, however, and can see why someone would get them. I firmly believe that if a tattoo has real meaning, there's nothing wrong with it. My tattoo tells my story, my testimony, and if seeing it can give someone hope and bring them closer to Jesus, then it is very much worth it. I am proud of my tattoo, and do not think that it is evil at all.
