Church Girl Gets Tattooed
Not too long ago I wrote a magazine article about Christian tattoos. The Christian community held off the tattoo fad for quite a while with the idea that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, plus there’s that verse in Leviticus 19:28 about not having yourself marked. But that has begun to change. Within the Christian community there’s a whole movement among the younger generation to have flowers, fish, birds, crosses, Bible verses, and even Chinese characters inked into their skin.
For most of my life I’ve observed tattoos with curiosity but never wanted one. I think I avoided the idea because when I was growing up, tattoos were mostly worn by Hells Angels leather dudes with big ol’ fat stinky motorcycles or ex-sailors who had faded and blurry bluish tattoos on their arms of pinup girls or Donald Duck. Church girls just didn’t get tattoos.
Plus, there were other issues. First, there’s the pain factor. Having a needle punched into my skin thousands of times? No thanks. Then there’s the permanence. Is there an image I love enough to wear it on my skin for the rest of my life?
And then there’s the blood. (When I worked for the Newhall Signal I interviewed a grizzled tattoo artist for an article he informed me that the tattooing process draws blood. Having grown up in the age of HIV and hepatitis, I say, Yuck.). And there’s the healing process. And the possibility that the beautiful living artwork you have envisioned might not look like what you were envisioning. Or you will have second thoughts. Or you will just get tired of it. Styles change, and it’s easy to change your hairstyle or color or clothes, but not your skin.
And last, there’s the hygiene problem. It’s one thing to have an injection or a blood test in a sparkly clean medical facility with highly trained and scrubbed up phlebotomists. It’s quite another to climb a set of rickety stairs outside an old brick building with graffiti on the walls and enter a storefront where an artist who has taken a class or two (quite possibly online) is waiting to ink you with a motorized needle that’s been intimate with someone else’s skin.
So, all that to say that I’m not the most enthusiastic tattoo fan that ever walked the planet.
But now I’m the proud owner of five tattoos. Can you believe it? Church girl has five tattoos.
At least they’re small. They almost look like blue moles. And I will have them for the rest of my life as a reminder of undergoing radiation treatments for breast cancer. They are used to map out the treatment site and also to warn future doctors that the site has already been thoroughly irradiated. It can only undergo radiation once in that particular area.
It’s been a long haul but I’m almost done with radiation. I’ve been going weekdays for almost 6 weeks now. I was in the gray zone, meaning that radiation was an option, not a mandate. There’s no clear and convincing research that demonstrates a benefit for people with my breast cancer stats (3 cm tumor, 2 lymph nodes involved). But there are indications that it’s helpful, especially for younger women (I’m 45 and that’s considered young where breast cancer is concerned). The idea is that any stray cancer cells lurking about the chest or lymph nodes will be killed off by radiation and lessen the chances of recurrence.
My five tattoos now border skin that’s sporting a reddish brown radiation tan. It’s a small price to pay for my future health, and while the tan will fade, the tattoos will remain.
I rather like them, now. Those blue dots are something of a badge of endurance and of hope. I didn’t ask for them but they’re helping me hang on to health and life. And who knows? Maybe one of these days I’ll have a tattoo artist connect the dots and make them into something more meaningful and artistic. Like a bird, like the warbler who visited me every day when I was recovering from surgery. But that’s a story for another day.
Until then, count your blessings. And your blue dots.
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SUSY FLORY is a New York Times best selling author, speaker, and journalist who searches out big stories with happy endings. She's I'm always looking for true stories that inspire and challenge her readers to embrace a life of passion, boldness, & adventure. 
Maybe they could shape the little dots like hearts
I’m so proud of you, Church Girl. 
Hi Susy!
This story inspired me so much… thank you for sharing! When I consider the reasons that prompted my oldest daughter, Avienne, to get a tattoo at age 21 (and with my blessing which was a shock to many), of the scripture 1 John 1:5 after she endured and persevered through a very dark time of her life, might cause some to ponder the deeper and more meaningful reasons of why.
Now, when people ask her about her tattoo, which many do because it’s like a bracelet around her wrist, she lights up and is able to give witness and testimony to God’s love and faithfulness over this dark period. God is good! God bless you! Love, Jhonna
I adore tattoos and don’t for a minute regret getting any of them, I’m currently getting a dragon tattoo down my right arm can’t wait to get it finished! as can only afford shortsittings at anytime. My local artist is very good and also extremly expensive but, he’s worth it! Great site btw
Definitely agree with exactly what you wrote, perhaps others can learn from this. It was a pleasure visiting your site and I will add http://www.susyflory.com to my favorites right now.
You have talked some nice information on the subject, are you working to do a FAQ facing this topic in the future, as i have some more doubts that might be common to other users.