Do you have a tattoo? If so, what is it and why?

Posted by Carla Swanson

My papa had a large tattoo on his forearm. He had gotten it while serving our country in the military. I remember so often sitting around the dinner table hearing stories of his time in the Army. Growing up I remember admiring that tattoo; wondering what the story was behind it.

I wasn’t someone who grew up wanting a tattoo. I can’t say I really gave them a second thought. That is until my forties. No, I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide I was going to brand myself. My early forties were difficult. Life had become everything I never thought it would be.

Then one day I was aimlessly scrolling Pinterest and I saw this quote.

“Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness yet become something so beautiful.”
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That was it. I knew it at that moment. I was going to do it. I was getting a tattoo for my 45th birthday. My gift to myself. I found a beautiful picture of a close winged butterfly; asked two friends to come with me for moral support and changed the look of my right foot forever. Why my foot? Let me tell you. It wasn’t about other people seeing it. It was about me seeing it. Reminding me of that quote. Reminding me of the beauty that could and would come from the darkness. Every day I see that wonderful symbol of renewal and hope and it reminds me to keep moving forward…one foot in front of the other.

My life truly has been transformed since that day. The same creator that formed that delicate butterfly has formed each one of us in His own image. Out of something so dark came something so unbelievably beautiful. I could have never imagined all that was in store for me.

So, is there another tattoo in my future? I think maybe one…I think it is time to let that butterfly open its wings. What do you think?

Go do your thing ladies. He’s got you!