Be Thou My Vision

I did something last year that really shocked some people (namely, my parents)...I got a tattoo.

The finished product

A zen-like moment of concentrating on not feeling
like needles were going straight into my bones.

In the process.

A pretty cool shot of the tatt in action.

But it has become something that has meant a lot to me and has also become a daily reminder of why I do what I do and is an encouragement when things get tough. It is also a reminder for me to be the most authentic Christian I can possibly be for one particular reason: you better not be a hypocrite when you have the cross permanently inked onto your body!

I chose to get "Be Thou My Vision" because it is one of my favorite hymns, and a pretty common one, too. I know I definitely had heard of it before I ever entertained the idea of accepting Christ. I also find that different lines of the lyrics speak to me at different times depending on what I'm struggling with at the moment.

Here are the words:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

naught be all else to me, save that thou art;

Thou my best thought by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word,

I ever with thee and thou with me Lord;

Thou my great Father, I thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;

Be thou my dignity, thou my delight;

Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower:

Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:

Thou mine inheritance now and always;

Thou and thou only first in my heart;

High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O Bright Heaven's sun!;

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

I think that right now and for the past few months, the words that have been hitting me the hardest would probably be, "Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise" and "thou and thou only first in my heart." I find that I sometimes feel a deep desire for human validation when I should be receiving that from God. What lines speak to you?

I'll leave you with one of my favorite versions of the song, one done by Pedro the Lion, one of my favorite bands.

Thanks for reading!

Alison

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