I drew this eight days prior to being released from jail on December 10, 2010. I originally wanted this tattooed on the left side of my chest right above my heart. In my own way I wanted this as a reminder of God's love for me. Oh, I know God's love is all around us and we don't need a tattoo or an idol of any sort to remind us of His love. In my mind I had a just reason, see I was facing life in prison and I knew that life as I knew would not be the same for me anymore. I also knew the evil that lurked in prisons. So, see I thought if I had this tattoo on my chest I could be reminded of not only His love for me, but also everything He has done for me and showed me up to that point in my life. The five objects in my drawing sums up everything God has done for me and continues to do for me.
The first object I want to mention is the main one, without it the others are useless. The Cross is the reminder of all reminders. There are several bible verses I could share with you, but the one that sums it all up is; John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not parish, but have ever lasting life." I know that this verse is over used, but if it speaks to you the way it speaks to me then share it. First of all, God sent His son to die on the cross for me, I am sorry but if someone told me that my son had to be nailed on the cross to save a world that is just going to spit in his face for the most part, I would be a bit stingy and say no. God did not hesitate, because He knew that if only one believed, it would be worth the sacrifice. Which leads me to the next part, "that whosoever believeth in Him," is an invitation to all not just the rich who can pay for it. Not the poor who are to broke to pay for it. "Whosoever," is not prejudice, nor does it discriminate between male,female, or age. "Whosoever," is you and I and in my case it is ME! God sent His son to die for my sins, I take that personally. He told me (all) to just believe in Him and I (we) will not parish, but have ever lasting life.
The second object I would like to share with you is the heart. The heart is a symbol of God's love that He continues to demonstrate, even after I (we) came to believe. God could have said, "okay he (they) believes, now I can go on to the next person," but He didn't. He continued to demonstrate His love for me every day. Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." You can imagine the impact this verse had on me. I was staring evil right in the eyes and knew I did not have the strength to overcome it on my own. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't falter some, I was scared. I knew that if I went to prison on the charges they had on me, I wouldn't be strong enough to survive. The first eight words in this verse are powerful though and settled my fears, "Fear thou not, for I am with thee."
The third object is a simple but powerful one, it is the ribbon that wraps the heart. My name is in the ribbon, I am that "whosoever" in John 3:16. My name is with God and embedded in His heart (written in the Lambs book of life).
The fourth object is the rose, I put the rose in the drawing for my tattoo for two reasons. The first reason is the beauty of God's love for me. His love for me never failed, even though I faltered, He didn't. I am reminded of a quote by Darlene Ballard, "You are unique. You are the only one in all of God's creation with your finger prints and your set of pains and experiences. You are special and you are rare. The way people in your life have treated you is absolutely no reflection of your value. It is only a reflection of their own pain and misery. Remember, it doesn't matter where you've been- only where you're going. Because life isn't what you get-it's what you give." The second reason is, I was a sinner and and my sin stunk of trash, but when my sin was washed away with Christ blood, I was cleansed by His blood. I came out smelling like a rose.
The fifth and final object are the broken shackles. They are a reminder of where I came from. Four years prior to being locked up I gave my heart to God and asked Jesus Christ into my heart. My chains were broken after 36 years of living in sin. I loved my drugs, alcohol, porn, and cigarettes. I had a wife and children, but that did not stop me from living the life I wanted. The broken shackles are a reminder of a life in which I did not want to return to.
Maybe some would say why would you want a tattoo? Why would you have to be reminded of God's love? I would say to them, "if you have never faced a dark time in your life, especially a chapter in your life that you would never write for yourself, then don't be so judgmental." There are times in walk with God, when we need that encouragement and no one is around to give us the proper encouragement. So we find that encouragement in God's word, quotes, stories, art, and maybe even a tattoo. I was found innocent of my charges and they were dismissed, so I never did get the tattoo. But, I still pull it out, look back at it and allow it to remind me of I dark time that was once in my life.
With God's grace all things are possible!