To The Tattooed Woman In Church Today

Hi. You have no idea who I am and I didn't get a chance to compliment your art. But I appreciated you so much today. 

See, as I got dressed this morning I tried to find something clean, comfortable, and presentable. This is harder than it seems. As I've gained weight recently (and been too lazy to take it off) I've had trouble finding things in my closet that I like. 

The shirt I wore today fits in such a way that I felt my "muffin top" was covered. The color is nice even with my new hair color. 

My main concern was this:

Now, I'm not ashamed of my art. I love my tattoo. It's been nearly a year and it's part of me (to the point that sometimes I forget I have it) 

But I'm new in this church. I'm new in this denomination. I've been judged over little things at church before and watched as others were judged. Call it being gun-shy. 

So I grabbed my leather jacket as I walked out the door. 

A leather jacket...in Arizona. It wasn't cold today. 

As I stood in the sanctuary I started to sweat and feel uncomfortable. I kept covertly (or maybe not as much as I thought) glancing around to see what everyone else was wearing. Lots of cap sleeves, full backs, or more. I was committed to sweating and feeling gross under my jacket when you walked in...

Today you had on a pretty halter top (with just your upper back exposed) and your tattoos decorated your arms and shoulders.

I hope you didn't notice my staring. If you did, I hope you took it as a compliment. 

I leaned over to my husband and said, "I feel better." 

Seeing you walk in with beauty and grace AND covered in art made me feel like I could shed the ridiculous jacket and stop worrying about ME. 

You probably didn't think about it when you got dressed this morning. You probably didn't expect to make a difference (no matter how small) in someone's morning. You probably just got dressed and headed out to worship. 

But I have to thank you. Your strength (even if you don't think of it like that) gave me strength.