A Tat, A Rap, And A Kidney
In January I got a tattoo, something I never thought I’d do. Not that I have anything against them; it just didn’t seem like me. But a couple months before, I had taught a Bible study lesson from 1 John 3. The first verse resonated so deeply with me that I created my own paraphrase based on my study of the original words and phrases.
What in the world is this love? How can it possibly be so, that the Father of heaven and earth would love me with such extravagance, going so far as to call me His own daughter?! And that is who I am – His beloved.
This truth invaded my heart and mind, and I knew I never wanted to forget it. So I had “beloved “ etched into my arm, where I’ll see it every day, in permanent ink.
This summer I stunned even myself when I rewrote the lyrics to “The Fresh Prince” theme song as a way to share my faith story…well, that part’s not so shocking given my love for writing… but then I agreed to perform it in front of a hundred women, followed by a ridiculous attempt to dance “the Carlton,” at a girls’ night out event. As an introvert and not-at-all-the-center-of-attention kinda girl, this was probably even more out of character than me getting a tattoo!
If you follow my blog, you’ve probably already read about these things. But there’s more… come November, I’m doing something else I never in a million years thought I would even consider, let alone actually do: I’m donating a kidney. This is the result of a work God has been doing in me and preparing me for over the past couple years. As the surgery date approaches, it still feels surreal at times. Other times I’m just in awe at being chosen to be used by God in this way. Overall, I’m just excited- and let’s face it- humanly speaking, that is just crazy!
I see now that God has been graciously working in a way that only He can. Taking three seemingly unrelated things and weaving them into the thread of my life. So what in the world could a tat, a rap, and a kidney possibly have in common? In a word: FREEDOM.
Getting a tattoo represents freedom from what people might think and freedom to express assurance of my own identity, trading my insecurity for the confidence of Christ. Attempting to rap and dance (somewhere other than my kitchen!) allows myself freedom to have fun, be silly, appearing the fool and laughing anyway! And giving up a kidney is knowing the freedom of obediently following the Spirit’s prompting with joy and trust and without fear.
As I look back over the past few years, I see that 2017 for me was about surrender. 2018 was about obedience. And even though I chose “discipline” as my word for 2019, God has chosen FREEDOM for me instead, and He is taking me on quite the freedom journey of my own. I have much still to learn, but I’ve already experienced what happens when the Spirit takes over and it’s no longer me or what I would do on my own. And even now, I want to jump up and down, throw my arms up, throw my head back, sing at the top of my lungs, and dance wild and free. Knots have loosened, shackles have opened, and chains have broken, and I am free to run after Jesus harder and faster than ever before. THIS is the freedom for which Christ has set us free. THIS is the abundant life He desires for us. In this I have SO.MUCH.JOY. And only our creative and amazing God could reveal this freedom through a tattoo, a rap, and a kidney!
