Time for a sports metaphor..."It's all in the wrist"

So I finally did it. I got my tattoo. This action did not just come on a whim, but actually out of great consideration…and 4yr thought process. While I’ll never be able to fully explain why NOW was the perfect time to get it to the entire world (or the two people that read this thing), I’ll do my best to explain a part of scripture that has meant so much to me for so very long.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "
I remember hearing this growing up in Sunday School, youth group and mission conferences. I heard lots of things during those times, but this is a passage that stuck close and was always on my heart…along with the “peace that surpasses all understanding”. It’s who I was created to be. It’s been the anthem over my life for as long as I can remember. It’s why I am a nurse. I always knew I wanted to help people, and through nursing school (a beast all its own) all I could think about was how I was gaining such a practical skill that I would be able to take around the world. It was what got me through nursing school. It’s why I even do medical missions. I’m not changing the world…only Jesus can do that. In light of reality, I do very little for all the need that surrounds me…but I feel compelled to let others know the love of Christ. To care for them, to educate them, to help them, to give to them, to come along side them, to listen to them, to pray with them…not because it’s charity, not because the government has a program for everything so I can be hands off and lazy…NO..it’s because my Jesus loves them and cares for them. He wants to listen to them, guide them, to intercede for them. But how will they know? They will know Jesus by the love I show them.
I got it on my wrist for a reason. Numerous ones actually. It has to be covered at work and my watch is the perfect size. No one has to know it’s there, but it will be a constant reminder to me…always staring me in the face. Yet, if ever I am not wearing my watch, it’s facing out purposely so others can read it. The perfect opportunity for someone to read it and ask “what’s up with that”. The wrist is where cuffs are placed. If I am going to be a slave to anything in this world, it will be only to my Jesus and the life he has set before me. The wrist is where you literally FEEL someones pulse, their life…these words are my heartbeat. The wrist is a sensitive area. It’s where young mothers used to test the milk to see if it was too hot. It’s a pressure point. In some cultures, they lead you by the wrist to where you are going. You can’t extend your hand to help unless the wrist is involved.
On a funnier note…during a staff meeting we were talking about identifying factors that we’d use if ever there were a major disaster. Kelli…who affectionately calls me ‘Sister Laura’ and always asks to make sure I am praying for certain staff members, had been teasing me about my tattoo. I told her it was now my identifying factor and we had a good laugh. In all seriousness though, should anything ever happen to me where I had to be identified…there’s nothing I’d want more on my body than that to distinguish me from others.
Like I said, it’s a sensitive spot. It hurt. The three dots were fine, but when the artist made the “e” all I could think was “great. I have so many letters left to go.” More annoying than anything, but the only time I really did not appreciate the art was when he was on the word “least”. Ironic. That’s life…isn’t the “least” the hardest to deal with, the one that hurts the most, the one that makes you think if it’s worth it?
It is. Everytime I see what I am now branded with, I smile. My heart gets a little burst of joy. Not going to lie…work has been pretty terrible since I got the tattoo. I had a feeling it would happen. Staff moral is down, I got crapped on and had to change my scrubs, I saw more nasty snot come out a trached child’s nose then I ever care to see again, I’ve had to be sweet and understanding to parents laying me out with their words, saw a newborn infant with old healing fractures, sat next to a mom with my arm around her as the doctor told her that her very young child has a brain tumor. That’s the least. Those are the feelings, those are the smells, those are the sights. It’s made me all the more thankful for my Savior, and everything he has protected me from…and that he’s placed me here, in Atlanta, at my job, at my church and with a heart for the nations that will soon be going out to Africa in just a few months.
This is a time of my life that I never want to forget. I want to be able to look back at my times of singleness and be so glad I did something with it! I’m not going to sit around and waste time waiting for life to come find me. BORING! I make the most of every opportunity…

Food for the hungry
Water for the thirsty
Clothes for the naked
Worth for the widows
Mothers for the orphans
Jesus to the world



In other news...we (the women going to Watoto) are going to be selling t-shirts. Below is a picture of what it will look like. They are going to be $20 and all the money goes straight to the $1000 we each have to raise as project money for the babies. Let me know if you want one!!!