St. Louis Ink (tattooed teens)

I’m not gonna lie; I tend to think that getting a tattoo is a bad idea.  I would never get one - not only because of the expense, but because of their permanence.  I know people who have gotten tattooed when they were younger (or not in the right state of mind) and then deeply regretted it – only to find out that both the pain and the expense of tattoo removal are excruciating.  So if anyone, especially a teen, ever mentions to me the idea of getting tattooed, I’ll highly discourage it.

Keeping that in mind, I want to tell you about an article I read recently that simply rocked me.

I was browsing the CPYU Youth Culture e-Update (click on the link to sign up, especially if you are an adult) and in the “Current News, Resources, and Trends” section I saw a link to an article called “Tattoos: A skin-deep reflection of adolescent life”

I just knew that I needed read the article right away, and so I did.  And I am glad that I did.  I’d like to ask you to do the same.  Go to the article right now and read it.  Then come back to this blog.

Amazing, huh?

Though I love the entire article I was touched in particular by these powerful excerpts-

Many of today’s youth will look back on this decade and remember it, not with fondness, but hesitation as they recall their struggles to simply survive. They will remember words such as divorce, separation, fatherlessness, abandonment, abuse and blended. In many ways they are a generation who lost their most special place in that thing called family. 

and

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many books may well be written on youthful bodies? We only have covered a few stories in abbreviated format. What we cannot capture is their tone of voice—one moment filled with pain and despair and the next minute full of joy and hope. We cannot look into their faces. We cannot feel what they have been through. However, we can be more understanding by realizing that some painted people are not who we think they are.Next time you see a young person with a tattoo, why not ask them to share the story behind it? You might be amazed at what you hear … and be better off for it. 

Immediately after reading this article, I emailed the link to church leaders I know; and I’ve received more positive responses to this article than any other that I’ve ever sent out!  Many of these Christian leaders were, like me, challenged to become more compassionate and less judgmental.  And that is always a good thing!

The most powerful response I received was from a fellow youth minister.  She told me that recently she was at a swim party, and she noticed a young man she knew – top of his class, definitely not the ‘tattoo type’ - with a relatively large tattoo on the top of his thigh.  This surprised her, and her immediate unspoken reaction was, “What were you thinking!!!!!!!”

Thankfully, though, what came out of her mouth was surprise rather than judgment.  This young man explained that his dad's Bible had been open to this passage of Sirach, and it was highlighted in his father's hand.  His dad was killed in an accident when he was in 5th grade, so he tattooed the passage on his leg facing towards him - so he could read it when he is hurting or praying or just missing his Dad; when he sees it he feels the comfort and courage of his father and His FATHER.  Here is the verse –

He will seem not dead, since he leaves after him one like himself, whom he looks upon through life with joy. (Sirach 30:4-5)

Holy Cow!  This took my breath away, and still brings tears to my eyes…and I hope it moves your heart, too.

I never want to judge a tattooed brother or sister again.  I want to find out more about who they are, and what their story is.

If any of you reading this have a tattoo story that you want to share with me, please send it in.  If you want me to keep it confidential, let me know.  But if you would be open to me publishing it in a future blog, let me know that, too.

For me, though, the bottom line is this - I’m asking Jesus to change me - by tattooing His compassion and understanding permanently onto my heart.