Finished school last Wednesday, by the complete Grace of God I got all 'A's this quarter! I certainly did not deserve them all, so I am astounded and quite happy. The quarter ended well and I am just really happy to be done and have a few weeks off.
The quarter actually ended on my 22nd birthday, and to celebrate, I got some ink done. Yup!
Yes, folks, that's real, and it's really on my finger. Ok, so....background:
Isaiah 44.5: "This one will say, 'I am the Lord's; and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, 'Belonging to the Lord,' and will name Israel's name with honor."
This verse captured my heart years ago, and I began to think that it would be really cool to have a tattoo to that effect on my hand. Off and on I've contemplated this type of tattoo, never knowing what exactly the wording would be, but knowing the meaning behind it.
This fall my pastor did a series on marriage and during one of the sermons we read Hosea 2.16:
"It will come about in that day," declares the Lord, that you will call Me Ishi (my husband) and will no longer call Me Baali (my master)."
I read that and was floored by God's beautiful love-offer to His people, and I knew then that if I were to ever get a tattoo on my hand it would be to have "Ishi" put on my ring finger, signifying that before any man puts a ring on my finger, before I 'belong' to a man on this earth, I belong to The Lord. At this point, I still had no plans to actually do it.
As the quarter progressed, something stirred in my spirit and I knew that it was time to actually get the tattoo. I felt very strongly that it was something I needed to do before I got married or even started a relationship with anyone, and somehow the day of my birthday just felt right. So, my cute little mentor, Kathy, went with me to a tattoo parlor and I got it done. It was so cool, almost like a worship experience! I love it. Every day I wake up and see it, and it's just awesome...definitely perfect timing.
I did it for personal reasons, very much to symbolize what God has done in capturing my heart forever. In a small way, I wanted to "bear in my body the marks of Jesus Christ". I had no idea what kind of doors it would open for conversation, it's not THAT noticeable but people at work have definitely been asking and multiple times I have had the opportunity to share the story of God's love for His people! It's really humbling and I fear that I do not tell the story well, I am praying that God will give me grace to express clearly what is on His heart through the ink on my skin.
In other news, next quarter I have scheduled to take all my classes in the mornings and afternoons, thus making it impossible for me to continue working the job that I have loved for the past 17 months. About 6 weeks ago I told my boss and the managers of the practice that I needed to resign the records position. God blew me away with His provision and faithfulness in that the managers accepted my resignation from records, but asked if I would stay on in some Casual capacity, working when it works around my schedule. I prayed about it and thought about it, and happily accepted. I am so blessed that I don't have to leave completely! I have grown so fond of these wonderful people and am already sad enough that I won't be seeing them every day. As the my time in records draws to a close I get more and more sad about this change, almost to the point of reconsidering! But I do believe that the Lord will use this for His purposes, either within my heart or in my life.
Hopefully, working less will enable me to focus on getting through my senior year at OSU well, and learning all of the things I need to learn. I get to take a Portuguese class next quarter, and I think 3 Spanish classes (either 3 Spanish, or 2 Spanish and 1 Linguistics). It will be busy, but I fully expect to enjoy it. God has been really faithful and I trust that He will continue to lead and guide my steps.
That's the December update, of course little things are always changing but I won't bore you with all of those details. I hope that you all will have a blessed Christmas and really enjoy your families!
Love and peace, to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Kara
Psalm 68.19: "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation."
