is my tattoo...not that anyone really asked...but I figured now is just as good a time as any to explain what it means.
Sorry it's such a terrible picture.
It's on the inside of my left ankle.
Here's the thing...I know there are plenty of people who don't like tattoos, find them evil or dirty or sinful or whatever. Clearly, I am not one of those people.
Let me first explain why I got a tattoo. I didn't it just because I wanted to, or because my friends all have them...quite the contrary, actually. My tattoo is, for me, a reminder of God's faithfulness and His promises. I didn't want a tattoo, so this is what I got. I wanted to remember the Lord's faithfulness and His promises and this is how I chose to do that.
Now, on to what it means...
The big shape is the outline of Peru. I've been there three times since December of 2003 and every time, the Lord has done big things for me. The second time (April 2005), He made me a promise. That if South America (meaning, a life there) is what I want, I needed to wait. Just wait. That I wasn't ready...I needed to trust Him and wait.
A lot has happened since then.
Ok, that's the shape.
The lettering to the right is the Hebrew word for Shiloh...specifically, for Shiloh, the place mentioned in 1 Samuel 1. Basically, Shiloh is where the Lord took Hannah when He promised her what her heart most desired. Later, she received the answer to that promise in Ramah.
Peru is my Shiloh. It was where the Lord took promised me what my heart most desires. Prayerfully, Ecuador is my Ramah.
And, just to make the whole thing a little cooler, some extra info about the word Shiloh...
-'Shiloh' as a name means 'His Gift.' Clearly, Peru was a gift for me.
-Hannah's husband, Elkanah, was from the tribe of Ephraim. For me, there are two cool things about this: 1.) Efrain (the Spanish form of Ephraim) is the son of my closest friend in Ecuador. And 2.) Ephraim, as in the son of Jacob and the tribe of Israel, means 'the Lord has made me fruitful in my barrenness.' The Lord most definitely took me to Peru in a time of barrenness.
And, so, that is the story of my tattoo...and why I love it.
