Details

My new tattoo. I'm pretty much in love with it. It's not my first, but it's definitely the most meaningful. I'm so excited now to share the details behind my new addition.

My father passed away 2 years ago. It was very unexpected and heart-wrenching. He lived his life as a faithful servant of the Lord; he's the source and shining example of why my faith is so strong. In memory of my father, I decided to get the first line of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi as a tattoo. It was one of my father's favorite prayers. It was also the prayer with which he tried to model his life. He also passed away on October 4, 2008--the feast day of St. Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon:

where there is doubt, faith ;

where there is despair, hope

where there is darkness, light

where there is sadness, joy

O divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

I didn't want just your everyday tattoo design and I've seen a couple of blogs where they got a calligrapher to design their tattoo. So I gave that a shot and found Bryn of Paperfinger. You may have seen her work all over the internet. She's known for her wedding work and I've admired her talents ever since I was researching wedding stuff.

I was a little hesitant to email her because I thought, "she couldn't possibly be interested in designing a tattoo... She's been featured in magazines, for cryin' out loud..." Much to my surprise, Bryn was so nice and accommodating! Definitely a Godsend. She completed the design just in time for me to get it done on October 4, the second anniversary of my dad's passing. As evidenced from this post.

Once it was all healed, I enlisted the help of my talented friend, Laynie, to take pictures for me. Here are some of the amazing photos she took.

Please go check out Bryn at Paperfinger and on her blog, Paper Tastebuds. And don't forget to check out Laynie Harris Photography. Thank you both so much for your talents and making my vision into a reality.