That Little Tattoo on My Foot....
For those who don't know, this past Spring, I got a tattoo on my foot that says "Proverbs 16:9"...within a week, the tattoo had faded but the tattoo artist said that since it was on the foot(the spot most likely to fade) that he would redo it for free.... That was almost 8 months ago. It has now faded to the point where its pretty unreadable but for reason I just never found the time to get it redone.
If you have seen my last blog post or have been around me these past couple months, you would have noticed that I havent really been myself. I went through a dark spot of my life but through it God taught me some things that I would have never learned without going through that. Although I am out of that rough patch, one of the things that I think about and get anxious about on a daily basis is my future.
Any senior in college can attest to the anxiety and pressures of determining one's future plans and finding jobs. I wasn't prepared for it at all and around the end of August, it hit me like a big ol bag of reality filled bricks.
...not to mention the constant question from curious people asking, "What are you going to do next?"....just an FYI, this isn't a good question to ask unless you know the person has set in stone plans...anyways back to the tatttoo
I went with my friend, Leland, when he got his tattoo and made a rash decision to get the one on my foot. I literally looked up the verse Proverbs 16:9 within minutes of getting the tattoo and it said,
After a quick 5 minute inking, the tattoo was done and I was on my way...not really thinking about the verse I had just put on my foot.
Then tonight, 8 months later, I realized how God is using my faded Proverbs verse tattoo in my life. You see, I know He had known this anxiety was coming and what a better reminder then a tattoo? I have probably changed my post college plans 5 or 6 times within the last 6 weeks. I tried to have it all figured out. I was going to move to Africa and do YL International, then the next week I was going to Nashville and forgetting about YL all together.
I was planning my ways in my heart, but the Lord hadn't established any of my steps.
I was trying to live life without the guidance of the Lord.
I was trying to determine the location I should end up without even going to the Lord in prayer.
All of these things just led me to even an darker spot where I wanted to run from my anxiety and from God and just pursue a life on my own.....which was the opposite of what I shouldve been doing. It took me hitting rock bottom to know that I needed to face my problems turn/lean into God even more. I was not at the point of maturity of my faith that I thought I was and when the hard times cames, I fled like a coward.....but God used it to teach me what He wanted me to learn.
Who knew that God could use a faded, last minute decision tattoo to speak to me like He did tonight. My life is in His hands and he knows where I'm going to end up, even when I don't. I can finally now say that I am happy and content knowing that. He will establish my steps to where I should go, all I have to do is be obedient to that.
Who knows where I will end up, but I know where ever I do it will be where the Lord wants me.
If you have seen my last blog post or have been around me these past couple months, you would have noticed that I havent really been myself. I went through a dark spot of my life but through it God taught me some things that I would have never learned without going through that. Although I am out of that rough patch, one of the things that I think about and get anxious about on a daily basis is my future.
Any senior in college can attest to the anxiety and pressures of determining one's future plans and finding jobs. I wasn't prepared for it at all and around the end of August, it hit me like a big ol bag of reality filled bricks.
...not to mention the constant question from curious people asking, "What are you going to do next?"....just an FYI, this isn't a good question to ask unless you know the person has set in stone plans...anyways back to the tatttoo
I went with my friend, Leland, when he got his tattoo and made a rash decision to get the one on my foot. I literally looked up the verse Proverbs 16:9 within minutes of getting the tattoo and it said,
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
After a quick 5 minute inking, the tattoo was done and I was on my way...not really thinking about the verse I had just put on my foot.
Then tonight, 8 months later, I realized how God is using my faded Proverbs verse tattoo in my life. You see, I know He had known this anxiety was coming and what a better reminder then a tattoo? I have probably changed my post college plans 5 or 6 times within the last 6 weeks. I tried to have it all figured out. I was going to move to Africa and do YL International, then the next week I was going to Nashville and forgetting about YL all together.
I was planning my ways in my heart, but the Lord hadn't established any of my steps.
I was trying to live life without the guidance of the Lord.
I was trying to determine the location I should end up without even going to the Lord in prayer.
All of these things just led me to even an darker spot where I wanted to run from my anxiety and from God and just pursue a life on my own.....which was the opposite of what I shouldve been doing. It took me hitting rock bottom to know that I needed to face my problems turn/lean into God even more. I was not at the point of maturity of my faith that I thought I was and when the hard times cames, I fled like a coward.....but God used it to teach me what He wanted me to learn.
Who knew that God could use a faded, last minute decision tattoo to speak to me like He did tonight. My life is in His hands and he knows where I'm going to end up, even when I don't. I can finally now say that I am happy and content knowing that. He will establish my steps to where I should go, all I have to do is be obedient to that.
Who knows where I will end up, but I know where ever I do it will be where the Lord wants me.
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