The other day I went biking and found a few wet spots on the trails. Once home, I took my socks off and was drawn to the contrast between the tattoo-like pattern on my legs and my lily-white feet.

Besides the fact that my feet are in serious need of a tan, the pattern of the mud on my legs got me thinking about what I would look like with some body art on my legs.

I’ve seen people who try to cover much of their body with tattoos and sometimes I wonder, maybe they should have gone biking first to get an idea of what it would look like if it were permanent.

… you know, before it’s there for the rest of your days.

In my town there’s a tattoo place called “No Regrets – tattoo and removal”. They will put a permanent tattoo on you but if you change your mind, they can take a laser to you and remove it.

I still think it’s better to think through the whole thing very carefully before you take the plunge in the first place.

In my mind, I think it would be profitable for people not just to think how cool it would be to have some tattoo on their skin now, but to think what they might want 20 or 40 years from now.

You know when you’re about 70, your skin will get quite wrinkly and that once great looking tat of your ex-girlfriend right at the top of your shoulder will have stretched to cover the greater part of your upper arm!

Or that tattoo on your muscular chest that was a testimony to your love for your wife Mandy, now with your flab and folding skin, sometimes reads “I love you Man” when you sit a certain way.

There is something to say about those lick’em stick’em tattoos that we would get as kids. Moms didn’t really like them but at least they were coming off in a few days. And if Mom really didn’t like them she could scrub that part harder at bath time.

I’m just saying that doing something permanent should be thought out thoroughly so that you don’t have to find some guy who has a laser in his back room and is eager to use it on you.

For myself, I liked the fact that I could have my picture taken looking like I had just come back from “NY Ink” or “Don’t Tell Momma’s Tattoos” only to slip into the shower and remove it all with a little soap and water.

I got a little scraped up on my ride that day but those markings too will go away in a week. Two years ago at Christmas I bough the whole family fake arm tattoos (you can read that blog here), I enjoyed wearing my tattoos for a day but I can’t say that I’ve put the sleeve on since.

Permanent is a long time; it should require lots of thought and consideration before you make something permanent.

Here’s the thing: Considering a relationship with Christ is not something that should be done lightly. It is, after all, a permanent decision. It should be weighed and considered carefully because you, like Jesus Himself, will bear the marks for the rest of your life. I believe those marks are worth bearing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What permanent thing have you done that you’ve had second thoughts about since?  I’d love to hear from you; leave your comment below.