Why did you get that tattoo?

I really do enjoy the people I work with. They make me laugh and help me kill the boredom, but they also break my heart. They talk about drugs, alcohol, and sex all the time. They encourage me to cuss and come hang out with them at parties. Needless to say, I can see the burdens that Satan has persuaded them to carry. I try my best to be a light in every awkward situation they put me in, but it isn't always easy.

Just the other day a girl I worked with asked me why I got my tattoo, "Love changes everything." It was hard for me in that moment because I couldn't spit out the right words to explain that it was about my relationship with Jesus. I had labeled her as a person I couldn't be real with, and it wasn't until later that I realized Jesus was real with everyone. I ended up telling her it was about my life story and that it was just a personal thing. I kept thinking about it on my way home and I realized it isn't necessarily a personal thing. It's a Jesus thing. His love changed my everything. His love changes the way I see, hear, and act. I wanted to go back to the restaurant and tell her that I got the tattoo because it's what my heart knows is the truth.

His love does change everything. It changes the way a mother looks at her child. It changes the way we talk to strangers in the grocery store. It changes our attitudes towards our parents when they make a mistake. It changes the way we treat our classmates. It changes the way we look at others. It changes the image we have of ourselves and exposes who we are underneath that image. It changes our standards in a potential spouse. It changes the way you embrace daily things - things like the sun rising or being able to take a deep breath. It changes the way we live, and changes what we think living truly is. Another amazing thing about His love is that it won't go anywhere. It will change everything, forever. It's permanent. Just like my tattoo.