Oh, and I got a tattoo on Valentine's Day. Or if you prefer a more technical vocabulary, I got a meaningful word transcribed onto my foot through a permanent ink-depositing device. Romantic, right? For those who have an aversion to this particular art form; Rejoice! No really, rejoice. No, literally. That is literally the word on my foot. I had been working on a typed-out, formal explanation of my tattoo, planning to attach it to a picture on my varying social mediums. But I started realizing that it was much more effective to personally explain it to people as they see it. However, I knew some of you may be interested, so enjoy the following (warning: I ramble. It is long): "Why Rejoice?"
I used to see my life's worth in being happy. We are often told that happiness is the key
to life. We strive to become happier
people, doing more things that will get us to this desired state. But as I thought about this notion, I
realized that happiness is a fleeting feeling; it is subjective to specific
situations and associated with certain emotions. Things make us happy, and things make us
unhappy. To try to constantly be happy seemed
to me an unrealistic goal, because life is inevitably filled with unhappy
moments. Instead, for the past couple of years, I've tried to live my life
aiming for a state of joy. Joy, on the
other hand, is an internal contentment, that does not waver depending on life’s
circumstances. Joy, is something that
can be found even in the most unhappy of times.
God doesn’t promise constant happy moments, but he promises that there
is always reason to rejoice.
I got
the word rejoice scripted on my foot for in my sister’s handwriting. Why my foot?
Because in times of trouble, we lower our heads in anguish and pain. What better motivation to change my attitude
than to see the word “rejoice” everytime I want to give up? As a lover of using dance to express my self
and my joy, I wanted everyone (including myself) to see my joy for the Lord
expressed through my feet as I dance.
Why my sister’s handwriting? Her
middle name is Joy, if that’s any consolation.
And as I was thinking through who is the most joyful person in my life,
it was her. A source of joy, and a
constant perpetrator of rejoicing. This word took on a very different meaning
two days before I got it. I had been
praying specifically for God to allow something to happen that would challenge
my faith and remind me of his control.
This was an extremely scary prayer to pray, but it was weighing heavy on
my heart and I knew I couldn’t ignore it.
Well, two days later I got a call telling me that my house was robbed, and
the majority of things taken were mine and my Mothers. I know to some this could seem extremely
petty and selfish, and let me assure you that it is. I had to be confronted with the loss of
earthly things, though they did hold great significance and sentiment to
me. But I had to remind myself that I
still have all that matters in life, and found myself repeating this word
throughout my week. Am I happy that I
lost all of my sentimental jewelry?
No. This is not a happy
situation. But I continue to
rejoice. I thought it was the perfect time to get it, in light of the recent events; a tattoo is something that will
never ever leave me. It is permanent,
and because as of late I have seen how easily earthly things can be taken from me, it’s a wonderful
reminder of the things I never want
to leave me, and that is joy. Just as
this tattoo is a word that will never leave my foot, I can only hope that joy
is something that will never leave my heart.
Even in unhappy events such as this.
So thats why Rejoice.I realize this post is too long, and far too serious. Let me leave you with an extraneous thought to lighten the mood; today I saw a man in the cafeteria with a water goblet filled with 1/2 luck charms and 1/2 soft-serve. A heart attack in a cup, I think to myself. But do you want to know what was worse? I was silently judging him whilst I ate away at my deep-fried jalapeno popper. Whoops.
