my story
I am a biologist-turned-priest who went from wielding a chainsaw to wearing a chasuble. But once one is a scientist, one is always a scientist. And always a person of faith. As I worked to integrate the scientist-in-me with the priest-blossoming-in me, I envisioned this tattoo. It is of the story of creation from Genesis merged with the story of creation according to evolution. There is so much debate over religion and science, and to many, they don’t play together. However, for me, they are both equal, beautiful, and integral to my story, and the story of Creation.
The tattoo is two hands with the breath of God (the ruach) being breathed out through God’s lips. As the wind itself twists and turns, it spirals and becomes strands of DNA. The dove represents the Holy Spirit, and the word LOGOS, written in Greek, represents Jesus, the Word (from the prologue of John). I chose lips breathing out breath because of the second story of creation in Genesis when God breaths into the dust of the Earth creating life. It remains, as such, an intimate, nurturing, delicate and loving vision of life being created.