Marked

Years ago, when I was in grad school, I got the brilliant idea* to have someone take an itty bitty needle to my back and draw on it. No amount of Irish Spring is taking that purple and pink away.

Clearly, I am an adult with two pregnancies under my belt now and my lower back is covered for the most part. I'm always saying, "No one wants to see none of that mess." Which, is probably pretty close to being accurate. But, I digress...

The other day I was leaning over to pick the fruit loops off the floor when Lilla and I had a conversation that went something like this:

Lilla: Mom, why is that butterfly on your back?

Me: Because I was a moron that thought it would be a good idea. It wasn't.

Lilla: Why not?

Me: Because it is permanent. I can't ever get rid of it. Once it's there, it's there. I wish I had not done that.

Lilla: Even when you die?

Me: Yep, even when I die. It will never go away.

Lilla: Well, maybe when you die it will go away.

Me: Nope, it is going to be there even when I die. It's forever.

Lilla: Well, maybe not. We are going to get new bodies when we get to heaven and maybe your tattoo won't be there then.

To which, of course, my breath was taken away. You see, if we are in Christ, she's right, someday we will have new bodies. All the imperfections and mistakes will be taken away. No more tears or hurts or spur of the moment grad school tattoos.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Phillipians 3:20-21

Thank you Lord, for giving me this lovely child to remind me of your mercy and the promise of heaven!

*Just to clarify, I'm not saying all tattoos are moronic. Mine was not well thought out. At all. For something so lasting, not so bright.

The body

When I was growing up I attended a church that I just loved. We were there from birth to fourteen when my mom get remarried and I was swooped to a home five hours away. So, we started going to another church. I fell in love with the people there eventually too. I attended until I was 20 and moved to the city. That was the church I got married in and still go back to every chance I get. About and a half later, I finally discovered the church in the city I would call home for the next 8 years. I loved the music, the preaching, the missions...so many things. Two years ago we decided when we moved across town to visit another church. Since then I've fallen in love with the people here, they are so warm and welcoming. It's a small church where you feel like you know everybody and the preaching is very theologically sound.




All this to say, each of these churches holds a special place in my heart. Over the years I have gone back and visited them and wished I could be part of them again. I so desired that sweet fellowship that I once experienced in each of those places and it was a sort of coming home to visit those spaces again.



It was no different this past Sunday as I visited my last church. We had a Hungary missions thing to go to so we decided to just go to the service too. How wonderful to see so many friends that I hadn't seen in so long. New lives had been born since I was there and there were many other changes to catch up with. How I longed to be there with them again! Don't get me wrong, I know where I am is exactly where God wants me to be and I love my church, I just miss these dear sweet Saints.

Suddenly I began to realize just a little piece of what heaven was going to be like. I would no longer have to long for the prescence of these sweet people who shared my love of Jesus because they would be there with me! Oh, what a day, what a place, what a Savior!!