The Reformation Tattoos
Wednesday, September 7th, 2005
The Tuesday following a holiday was usually rather awkward, however this particular Tuesday had seemed pretty much as though it were any Tuesday. Perhaps this was because it was the first day of choir for Joe and Rose again, and choir days always seemed like Tuesdays, because they were.
While they were singing in the new choir year, Mom, Collette, Carrie, and the two little ones went shopping for Apple’s wedding gift. They first came across a thick-glass square candle jar filled with the autumn goodness of home baked warm mulled cider, with cinnamon sticks. Then there was a crudely checkered ceramic hand-painted bowl of fall colors: navy, green, dark orange, goldenrod, and deep red.
Later that evening, Carrie and Collette dropped in at Earth, Wind, & Bead at the mall for two bracelets for Apple: one of large flat turquoise beads and another of a clear stone which seemed to glow in the light. This was the same place where Carrie purchased a long necklace of many strands of coral beads which wrapped around the neck like a scarf. The coral beads were exactly the same sort as in the necklace OLeif and Collette had purchased Grandma Combs on Marguerita Island, Venezuela, on the honeymoon.
They all then stopped by the grocery store after getting Francis and Linnea an Oreo shake apiece at Jack-in-the-Box, where they saw Thumbelina Reasons, an old acquaintance of Carrie’s from church (Joe’s age) whom they had not seen in a long while. Though she did not seem to recognize Mom. The first time they had seen her family, they thought they were a family of Bulgarian gypsies.
At the grocery store, Collette dragged in Francis with her to carry one of the jugs of cider while she grabbed the other one with two fresh round loaves of garlic cheese pull-apart bread from the bakery.
And so at the house there was soon cider on the stove which Carrie spiced with orange slices, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, as she did every fall. And Collette administered vocabulary and reading tests to Joe and Rose while they watched more news on the hurricane disaster and aftermath. Mom prepared dinner: the bread, a pasta dish, and fruit salad.
This was soon followed by computer class and the coffeehouse to see Joseph’s new tattoos, both done in script: “Law” on the lower left arm and “Gospel” on the lower right. Carrie grabbed a mocha and ran, as she had homework to attend to, and thus missed the tattoos. But OLeif was also introduced by Joseph to another student who had “Solus Christus” tattooed on his left arm. A ring of guys with Reformation tattoos. Hard to come by, few and far between, but they were there.
It was that Wednesday evening that Carrie IM’d with the possibility of her going to Louisiana with Mr. and Mrs. Nickels from church to help with the relief. It was scheduled for the same weekend as the R.C. Sproul conference and Great Uncle Fred’s birthday celebration in Kansas City. The more concerning part, of course, was that the South was still very dangerous. Collette knew it would be good for Carrie to help, but she wasn’t thrilled about the idea because of the havoc she would be going into. And yet Carrie was ready for danger and action in her quest for the Secret Service… Collette had to think it over, uncomfortable as it was. The subject threw her for a loop that evening and she prayed about it. Even if she wasn’t going that time, there would be times her family and close friends might be put in harm’s way. Yet more opportunities for God’s great mercy and refuge to be shown.