National Umbrella Month: Why I got an umbrella tattoo (hint: God)
March is National Umbrella month. Who knew? I guess if you need a designated month for umbrellas, March is a logical choice, considering spring rains and all that. Most of the time, the questions about my umbrella wrist tattoo relate to Mary Poppins; but for March, I’m going with “I’m celebrating National Umbrella Month.”
Did she say she has an umbrella tattoo?
Yep, a tattoo of an umbrella. Now it’s important for you to know that I’m not the type of person who just wakes up one day and says, “I’m going to get an umbrella tattoo.” At my age I’m pretty much past my spontaneous, rebellious phase. So, here’s the story behind my little umbrella and it has nothing to do with the modern-day song, but everything to do with a psalm.
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Last year, our pastor used a very powerful and vivid illustration of a pop-up canopy on stage to show how God is our refuge and our fortress — our protection. We seek Him, we run to the shelter, He is our safe place. Week after week, our pastor walked underneath and out from that shade canopy to make his points.
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9).
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’” (Psalm 91:1-2).
“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).
Do you know how many times the Bible references the shelter, the refuge, the fortress? Lots. But yet, we go through life trying to do it on our own.
We encounter a battle and we try to fight it in our strength.
We run from trouble, not to the safety of His fortress, but instead to any number of meaningless remedies, like drugs or alcohol — anything to distract us from the reality.
When scared, we panic, we cry, we look for relief. But do we seek it under His covering?
When we are weary and tired from life, do we run to his hiding place, His refuge?
More often than not, I’m trying to survive in my own strength and seeking solace in a worldly solution.
When Pastor Jason wrapped up that series by whipping out an umbrella, and talking about how we can access that shelter, that shade, wherever we go, I was shook. Like literally God-smacked.
He is with me wherever I go. Covering me. Protecting me. Sheltering me. He then referenced Psalm 121 and that was that.
Umbrella tattoo, here I come.
Psalm 121:5-6. “The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm.”
Not only does He serve as our shade, but the Lord is also our shield and that umbrella went from being over the head to in front, as the ultimate protector. My umbrella is an ever-present reminder of the Lord’s love and protection, and the peace that comes from living within the shelter of the Almighty.
No matter what comes my way, my God’s got me. I can rest under His covering. And as for that tattoo, it gives me plenty of opportunity to tell others about that supernatural shade.
For the sermon: https://subspla.sh/8m497t6
Dawn has worked for Christian Care Ministry for 20 years, now serving our members in her role as Director of Communications. Dawn spends much of her free time in nature, searching for elusive birds and taking average iPhone pictures of alligators and stunning scenery to make all her friends jealous.
