Marta's Tattoo Sustains Her

Earlier this month, at the entrance of Battery Park, I met Marta, a tourist from Spain. I saw this tattoo on her back and asked if she would share it. She graciously agreed.

Marta described this as a "floral crown," with the phrase "I will sustain you" within.

Marta told me that the phrase is from the book of Isaiah, in the Bible:

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4, New International Version)

Marta explained to me what this meant to her, but later wrote me and expressed in writing:

"... I was passing a really bad moment, and I was in bed for weeks. Then I realized that there was something more, something helping me. And this strength I was receiving through the love of my sister, parents and aunts should be the reason to start fighting again. I don't know how, but my faith appeared in this very moment. 

And this sentence from Isaiah has been essential in my life. These four words are what I say to my students when they feel upset or worried and these four words were the first said in my wedding." 

It's such a lovely tattoo and a beautiful story, and I am happy that Marta agreed to share the tattoo with us.

She credited Zeila Ruiz (@zeilaruiz) with the tattoo work at Italiano Diablo Tattoo (@italianodiablo) in Madrid, Spain.

Thanks to Marta for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is �2016 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.