The back story:
Before coming on the race I did a variety of fundraisers. I made bracelets, cookbooks, t-shirts, and whatever else popped up but I was still struggling to meet my fist financial deadline. (By the way if you haven't heard I am now fully funded!) My amazing sisters jumped on board and promised to shave their heads if they could get $2,000 by a certain date. (Luckily they didn't have to)
Somehow the fact that they had been willing to do something crazy got me thinking outside the box of “normal” fund-raising. What was something fun and a little crazy that I was willing to do that would get people on board? From that line of thought came “To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo” the fundraiser where your votes (donations) decided if I got a tattoo or not. I had wrestled with the idea of getting a tattoo for years and I didn't think I would ever decide on my own, so it seemed perfect. The idea was simple there were two sides, YES and NO, the first side to raise $500 won. If the YES's won I promised to get a tattoo (the design and placement was my choice) if the NO's won I promised NEVER to get a tattoo.
When I started it I really thought the NO's were going to win so I didn't really give any thought to the design I wanted. It was very close but the YES's had it in the end. My first thought was “Oh…guess I'm getting a tattoo.” I searched all over the internet for scripture tattoos and read up on which placements hurt less (by the way…they all hurt) and after all that I sill had no idea. One thing I felt like God dropped in my mind was not to get a scripture because there may be a day when I am in “closed countries” where it it illegal to be a Christian. So I needed to find something that had significant meaning but wouldn't cause any problems either.
The design:
One night I was rather exasperated with how my day had gone and as I laid my head on my pillow I made a request of God. “Lord, can I have a dream from you tonight? I don't even care what it is about I just want a dream that I know is from you.” All I saw in my dream was this…(or something similar)
I hadn't even been thinking about my tattoo when I went to bed but when I woke up I knew this was it. I chuckled a little bit thinking about telling my Mom that God gave me my design. (She was the president of the NO's, she's come around to the idea though) To be honest I didn't really like it in the beginning. Don't get me wrong I loved the design but it was “UNCOMMON” that I had a problem with. If anything I would call myself common, normal…maybe sometimes weird or eccentric but to say anything else seemed to broadcast “LOOK AT ME! I'm special.”
“What is so special about you?” The question jabbed at my mind every time I thought about the design.
Finally I asked God what it meant because I couldn't handle it if it was only declaring that ' I'm uncommon'. The answer came in a flash; Uncommon Faith, Uncommon Love, Uncommon Devotion. These were things I could aspire to, work towards, so somehow that was OK in my mind.
Getting it:
I hadn't really planned on getting my tattoo in Thailand. However, there were several other people on the squad getting theirs and they turned out really well so checked with the tattoo artist and see if he had an opening. At first I thought he was asking if I wanted to get it that night and my eyes got huge as I said “NO! I'm not emotionally prepared for that!” He laughed as he assured me that he only meant setting up the appointment that night. Before I knew it I was set to get my tattoo in less than a week.
I have now had it for 10 days. It hurt more than I expected and the ladies I went with DIDN'T TELL ME that they had to go over it TWICE! (I survived it…barely) It took about 45 minutes and 900 baht (about $30) but I finally have my perfect one and only tattoo.
The deeper meaning:
It wasn't till I had this forever art on my shoulder that I really thought about what it would mean to have uncommon faith, love, and devotion. Though there are many examples in the Bible three stories immediately came to mind.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 The type of faith that sees dry bones raise back to life. Somehow it goes beyond “simply” raising the dead back to life. It is walking into a situation where hope is long dead and gone and seeing miraculous restoration happen. Its the absolute knowledge of who God is and that you hear His voice and believe what He says and act on it no matter how crazy it seems.
John 3:16 An outrageous love that gives all there is to give. Absolutely nothing held back. I'm still trying to figure out how it it possible to look into the face of someone who has 'wronged” you and react with love. But I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the love that God has shown me.
Daniel 3:16-18 The type of devotion that even the threat of death isn't enough to cause it to waiver. Strong enough to stand in front of a furious king and declare that “I know God can save me but even if He doesn't, still I will serve him.” Even more than that, to live a life dedicated and set apart for God. Its something I've talked about, thought about, heard sermons about, but up to this point I have not lived.
unusual, rare, peculiar, extreme, weird, outrageous, odd
Uncommon …ya I think that sums it up.
