Two things I have to tell you before you view the video. I first saw this a few days ago; a friend had posted it and it came up my Face Book page. I watched it four times. I cried each time. Be prepared to be touched. The other thing is the use of ‘language’. You’ll hear the f word and s word but listen to the tone in which those words are used. Not hurled at someone else, more toward themselves. Sometimes used in awe; sometimes used in sadness.
The back story is about a rehab center in California. It’s for people coming out of the gangs and starting life fresh. Except – they are permanently marked and the boldness of the markings, and where they are placed, are what is so frightening to us. Just by the markings, I would be afraid to pass anyone of these folks on the street. Yet – what does Jesus tell us? “You will know them by their fruit.” We, as Christians, are to look not at the person as presented to us, but at what they do and say and how they live. That is the fruit we’re to look for. Through the rehab center they are able to get ‘normal’ jobs, support themselves and their families, walk a different road than the one they chose when they were younger.
The image that made my cry – time after time – is the picture of the young woman. I’m a mom; I have a son and a daughter. My son has no tattoos, my daughter has a couple on her arm. She dreaded the day I saw hers. What can you do? It’s a done deal. But this young woman – so pretty, so fresh and young, and a whole life ahead of her – her facial tattoos, especially under each eye, tore me up. What must life have been like for her to put such a thing on her face. If eyes are the window of the soul, what does this ‘window dressing’ tell us? And I just start crying again. So young to be so hurt by the world. Maybe it was family, maybe it was ‘friends’. I don’t know. It’s a culture so beyond my experience, I find it hard to relate. Except … I have a daughter, too. The world has hurt her, too. Maybe what a tattoo really is, is a symbol that tells the world, “I’ve been hurt” – even if it’s a cute little pixie or a dolphin; it says, “I’ve been hurt”.
They looked for acceptance from man rather than the unfathomable love of Jesus. Somehow, Jesus was less real to them than the people they ran with. Whose fault is that? There’s no way of knowing. I look back at how I was raised and ask if my life was different. My parents were both believers but they never taught us about Jesus – the church did that. The closest we came to discussing Jesus was the lighting of the birthday candles on the cake Mom made for Him every Christmas. Had I lived in another place and time, could I have been one of the people in the video? It’s possible.
I’m a firm believer that we are defined by the choices we make. These people have made new choices and they are to be applauded. But their poor choices are right there, on their faces and their bodies; they are going to have work harder to dispel peoples’ perception of them. They chose a hard road to begin with and now they’ve chosen a road that will be even harder.
The next time you walk down the street and see someone who looks like these people coming toward you, try to remember that person is also a child of God. And that there but for the grace of God go I.
All Along the Watchtower 
Quite and yes, the young woman is very moving. And yet, while Christians will try to accept that they have turned over a new leaf, and those who know them may well witness that, they still will have to deal with the fact that society (for lack of a better term) will judge them by there surface appearance. These people don’t sound stupid, not any of them. But would you employ that quite pretty woman in a job that involves public contact – even as a receptionist? I don’t think it would be a viable move, her choices have pretty much ruined her chances in many areas, and that is very sad,
I can forgive them, I’d bet that in the groups they grew up in, the tattoos are the norm, a mark of acceptance, but in wider society, while we can overlook some, this overabundance, and the in-the-faceness of many of them is frankly damning.
But good luck to them, I hope that can make a life, and they will be in my prayers.
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You make my point for me, “But would you employ that quite pretty woman in a job that involves public contact – even as a receptionist?”. The new road they’ve taken is going to be much harder for them. I pray for them, too.
Because I watched the video so much, I was able to see on their faces that one split second of remorse at what they’ve done to themselves – that moment of realization of what could have been. And I think it is that instant that starts the tears flowing.
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And that is the appropriate response. Your life is a terrible thing to waste. I not only pray for them, but I also grieve for what might have been for them.
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I reread the article and watched the video again – I am so moved, so grateful to God. We are all broken people but most of us can hide our brokenness. When you look at me you see a lot of things, but not how broken I am inside. These poor folks have their brokenness shown where it can’t possibly be missed. My heart just aches for them.
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We are all wounded on the road, but this is a reminder how how much that is so with some. I can only pray. I know, to my cost, how easy it is to get lost – but he is there if we will seek him. Very moving, Audre xx
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Thank you. It’s reassuring that you were touched as well.
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Thank you for sharing. It’s a reminder of what there is out there. x
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You remind us all why St Paul bound faith hope and love together.
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Perhaps, sometimes, it takes something startling to remind us. Thank you, Nicholas.
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