I got a tattoo. In Ireland. With Rebekah and Jessica.
So there.
I’ve been thinking about doing it for, oh, 6 years. I don’t know if its just because I am in Ireland,or that I’m 24 and a big girl now, or that we were teamed up with Nathan and Dan (who have some BA tattoos), or if its just the O squad thing to do. Maybe because on this race I’ve finally been able to start seeing God not just as Father, but as Lover. As fulfiller and satisfier of my heart’s deepest longings. But I finally dived in and got something my heart has longed for ages.
It says “Agapetos”. A Greek word meaning “Beloved of God. Esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love.” I got it on the outside of my right foot to remind me, for the rest of my life it seems, that no matter what I may think of my identity at the moment, that first and foremost- My identity is that I am unconditionally LOVED by God. I am HIS Beloved bride. Daughter. Princess. Nothing can separate me from that. Nothing.
On the actual day of, I debated for a few hours of whether to get the word Beloved in English. I mean. I don’t speak, read, or know a lick of Greek. It’s just something fancy that preachers throw out there from time to time to look smart. But I like the fullness and depth of the word in Greek. It becomes multi-dimensional. It’s intentions pure and unadulterated. Beloved of God. Used 60 something times in the new testament. I am, we are, recipients of a massive, ocean of Love from the creator of the universe. And frankly I just like the way apostles and of old used it. Ironically enough, the very day after getting my tat, I got to go to the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin which houses the oldest known manuscripts of the gospels and letters from Paul, all in Greek. When I saw those pieces of papyrus with Greek scribblings on them, my heart lept in resonance with the ancient markings of our faith. It gave me the sense that, this love, this truth, is not new. It’s ancient and massive. Predating our modern world. Predating language even. It echos back to the foundations of the earth. Somehow putting such a heavy word to the truth of such a love, symbolically mark it permanently on my temple, is allowing me to transcend the flightiness of my thoughts and emotions…and truly buy into and believe its humanly impossible, overwhelming reality.
