Tattoos are amazing. I'm relatively new to the tattoo club, having just been branded back in May for the first time. I love the look of tattoos, but more than that, I love them for the storytelling opportunities they present. I love to hear cool stories or reasons behind tattoos, and I love the artistic representation of people's memories of the past or dreams for the future.
My tattoo is very special. I designed it myself after a very special child in my life passed away. Christian James Churchill was one of those rare people in the world. He spread joy and love wherever he went. He was one of the happiest kids I've ever known, and he never met a stranger. He loved music and dancing, and was obsessed with guitars. You looked at him and saw this light beaming from his very soul, and I know it was God's love. Christian also happened to have autism, which made it very hard for him to connect with people in a "normal" way. He didn't speak much, but he loved hugging people, making silly faces at them, playing chase, and lighting up the room with his smile. I loved him so much, and I thank God for his presence in my life. Last November, Christian was diagnosed with a pontine glioma, a rare brain tumor that took his life in April of this year. I had the opportunity to speak at his funeral, and I shared about Christian's impact on my life; how he reminded me to live every day to the fullest, to be joyful, to be silly, and to love unconditionally. My tattoo is simple, just a guitar and his initials, CJC. I love having the reminder of him on my wrist, and I love telling his story, because I know he lives on through the ink on my skin.
Recently, I was telling a squadmate the story of Christian, and she pointed out that his initials could also stand for Choose Joy Constantly. What a great insight! Another reason I love tattoos is their story is continually evolving every time you tell it. On the World Race, we talk a lot about choosing joy, especially in difficult situations. I've quickly learned that choosing joy is hard, but worth it. When you are crammed on a city bus with 40 Chinese people and all your worldly possessions strapped to your back, you can complain about having no personal body space, or you can laugh as you jerk around, crashing into your teammates as you careen through the insane Harbin traffic. When you're stuck on a train for 16 hours, stopping at what seems like every Chinese village between Harbin and Beijing, you can complain and wallow in boredom, or you can get ridiculous with squadmates and bond over people watching and MASH. When you get into Beijing at 2:30am and pull into the hostel at 3:30am to find that you can't get into your rooms until that afternoon, so you must sleep on the floor of the hostel's restaurant area, you can complain and lose sleep over how uncomfortable you are, or you can choose to curl up and be thankful for a roof over your head and a safe place to attempt sleep.
Choosing joy is never easy. It's so much easier complaining and being put out that your plans didn't go the way you wanted them to. But when do our plans ever go exactly the way we want them to? I've learned that it's in these moments of unplanned stress that God shows up, reminding us of the amazing things He can do in the little moments of our lives. Choosing joy allows us to open ourselves to His leading. Like when a Chinese train passenger asks if all Americans are as happy as we are, and it leads to an opportunity to share the Gospel. Or when the mere sight of 47 smiling and laughing foreigners draws smiles from a watching crowd, instead of annoyance at our noise and energy. Or when the sight of the same 47 people sprawled out on the floor amongst huge backpacks causes other hostel guests to ask questions about the group, presenting the opportunity to share about the World Race and the reason we've chosen to give 11 months of our lives to showing God's love around the world. People see Christ in us, and it makes a difference. They may not understand or want to know what makes us different from others, but they are drawn to it just the same. Being the light of Christ is hard work, but if a young boy named Christian can do it, so can I. So I'm choosing joy, every day of my Race and beyond. Even in the seemingly impossible moments, even when I'm tired, hungry, stressed, sick, or let down. Because God is in those moments, and he offers me a choice: choose Him or choose myself. It's up to me to pick, and it's up to you to pick in your life. How can you choose joy today?
