Tattoos often illustrate stories. For me, one tattoo in particular reminds me of a place I love, a God who loves me, and an adventure yet to be had.
I have two tattoos, but my most recent one is very important to me. The design – a silhouette of the Annapurna Mountain range and an evergreen forest – was sketched in my journal as I trekked through Nepal in the Summer of 2014. Inside are the words “Fear no woods” written in Devanagari. Fear no woods, a blog post by John Acuff, came to me at 4900m (16,000ft) as I made my way to Lake Tilicho, one of the highest lakes in the world. This blog spoke to the struggles I was facing at the time, and how God was calling me to step out in faith.
An excerpt from Fear no Woods:
“It’s time to go into the woods. It’s time to go fully or don’t go at all with your dream. Lean into it with your life. Gather up the pieces that matter, pile them in the center of your kitchen that refuses to stay clean and throw them into the fire of your idea. Risk relationships. Risk finding out who your friends really are. Risk failure. Risk success, the most dangerous thing of all. Don’t aim for a flicker when a bonfire calls.”
Read more at Acuff.me: Fear no woods.
Even though my mother isn’t proud of it, I love my tattoos. I think they can often times remind us of many eternal truths.
He has a beautiful design in mind. I spent hours on trail praying to God as I hiked through the mountains. Sometimes I would ask for direction and guidance as I stepped into this new season with Him behind the wheel. I prayed for God to begin to change me and use me for His kingdom. Other times, I prayed for a candy bar… yes… a candy bar. One prayerful moment that I vividly remember is asking God to help me design this tattoo.
We made it to camp around noon on the first day of our hike to Lake Tilicho. It was a challenging day physically, but my mind was also tested by the hours of downtime we had upon arrival. I tried yoga. I tried praying. I tried everything! Nothing could overcome the anxiety and restlessness I had. My books and cards were in the previous town. So, in order to keep my mind busy, I started messing around on my phone.
At which time – you guessed it – I stumbled upon Jon Acuff’s blog, Fear No Woods. Almost immediately I started scribbling down images, and in prayerful creation, the design for my tattoo came to be.
Now, this post was from November 2013… 8 months ago. It was the ONLY saved page on my phone. Even more crazy was how it spoke so perfectly to me in my situation. What you might not have known is that I NEEDED to hear those words. God SHOWED them to me on purpose. There was something in side of me that was suffocated by fear. I hadn’t ever specifically voiced this to God but He knew it. All the shame of my past and mistakes that I had piled up were feeding this monster in my soul and through the words of this completely unforeseen author, at 16000ft, God’s plan of reconciliation came to fruition.
What is God designing in your life?
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
-Jeremiah 29:11
Tattoos can only cover so much. For those of you with tattoos, I’m sure you would agree that the first question people always ask is “what does your tattoo mean?” followed by “Do you have anymore?”. At which point, you’re either denying the existence of any more tattoos for the sake of embarrassment, or your lifting up your shirt to show off your sweet hello kitty tattoo. In my case, I often share my Maori Tribal piece from New Zealand.
This was my first Tattoo, and I like it for many reasons. Partly because it is strategically placed over a scar on my right shoulder. I got the scar when I was in Jr. High due to a bicycle accident. Before the tattoo, people used to ask me about that scar all the time. For whatever reason, I would sometimes make up this crazy story (which involved me on a motorcycle). The lie was completely stupid and pointless, but I saw an opportunity to make myself look “cooler” than a kid who wrecked his bike. So, I covered it up with the tattoo because it meant people would stop asking me about my scar. I thought that maybe I wouldn’t have to remember how deceitful I had been, or be tempted to lie.
Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. People still see through the tattoo and ask me about that scar. That old adage is true that the truth will reveal itself. Over the years, God is constantly revealing areas of my life that need work. Rather than disqualifying me for my sin, He shows me love and forgiveness. My mess becomes an opportunity for His glory to shine through. My tattoo couldn’t cover my scar, my pain, my sin, or my brokenness – But what no tattoo can hide, God can surely take away.
“He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.”
– Daniel 2:22
Pain is a part of the process. My Nepali Tattoo was by far one of the most painful experiences of my life. By hour 4, every time the needle touched my skin my body convulsed as every nerve from my head to my toes went berserk. I’m almost sure that I was about to black out multiple times… Now, don’t get me wrong. I am no sucker for pain, but at that point, my skin was so tender that I nearly gave up with only a few more minutes left of shading. I was in pain, but I refused to suffer because I knew that one I had made it through until the end. The next day I left the country and it was now or never. What kept me going was the realization that it was going to hurt whether I liked it or not, but when it was all said and done, I would have a beautiful piece of art to cherish forever.
I heard someone say the other day that pain is unavoidable, but suffering is an option. When I heard this, it resonated with me. There are so many things in life that cause pain. Whether they’re from setbacks or growth, it’s inevitable. Pain is “what happened”. Suffering is the story we create around what happened. When we experience pain, but we fail to do something to heal, repair, or improve the situation, we suffer.
Pain is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional
The solution is simple. Rather adding our own interpretations, beliefs and judgments to our pain and allowing resentment, anger, or addictions to blind us from the underlying motivation behind it, we use the pain to push us towards healing- towards Christ. It’s not an easy thing to do because when we adopt a spirit of suffering, it becomes a habit. We must remember that pain is a part of life, but how we respond to it is our choice. God wants us to bring our pain to Him, and experience true healing, peace, and hope.
“I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
– 2 Corinthians 7:9-10
