my story
Being a tomboy in school was hard enough. The girls never thought I was pretty enough to play with them and the boys didn’t want to catch “cooties” from a girl. Not to mention, day in and day out, I was ridiculed for having a lazy eye and wearing glasses. I knew I was different, but I couldn’t figure out why that was such a bad thing.
Everyday my grandmother would hug me tight and tell me, “you are loved, you are loved, you are loved.” She would read a verse from the Bible when I would be upset – 1 John 4:18-19. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out that fear, because fear has nothing to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us.”
She told me that when I was being teased to remember that I was loved, and that I was a child of God who is far greater than any bully will ever be. I survived the darkest of days because I knew that I was loved not only by God, but by a grandmother who was always there for me. I got my tattoo, in her handwriting, as a daily reminder that I am loved. No matter what people say, or what I may go through, I must remember that I am loved, unconditionally. I am loved. I am loved. I am loved.