Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I'll Fly Away

You know that hymn, "I'll Fly Away?" I grew up in a church that didn't sing hymns, but working at a nursing home for the last two years has familiarized me with a lot of them. For some reason, despite the fact that every music group sings this hymn, I don't get tired of hearing it.

When the shadows of this life have grown, I'll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls, I'll fly away
I'll fly away, oh glory, I'll fly away
When I die, hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away
Just a few more weary days and then, I'll fly away
To a land where joy will never end, I'll fly away



Perhaps I like it because of the flying notion. Flying on a plane is completely different from a bird's flight, and maybe it's the novelty of it. Being up, up, up.... away from the normality of the ground. Maybe it's because I can't fly that I like to think that it would be nice. I don't know. 

























source

I kind of want to get some little birds flying off of my tattoo... but I don't want it to look too cartoonish. The tree is a tree of life, with the word "agape" meaning unconditional love. I think it'd be really cool to have birds flying off of the tree, kind of to symbolize what the song is talking about with heaven. 

I've been dealing with quite a lot of death this spring/summer, and it's left its mark.

5 comments:

♥ Nadine said...

Is that tattoo on the first picture yours? It's really beautiful and I don't think that it would be too much with a few birds flying away from the tree. Maybe someone can draw a few with a black pen or something, so that you get an idea of how it looks...

Ah, that is never an easy decision for tattoos are permanent.

Let me know how you decide. :)

XOXO.

Anonymous said...

I love this hymn and i love your tattoo!! i'm sure you could come up with a non-cartoonish way to add the birds.

sorry this spring and summer have been so hard on you. i've been thinking and praying a lot for my new "blog friends" - and that includes you!

Amy @ AGirlCalledBeloved said...

my absolute favorite hymn.
I grew up singing it and loving it. I love Alison Krauss's version from O Brother Where Art Thou.

I think that would be a beautiful tattoo!

so sorry to hear about your loss Liz.
Thinking of you!
Praying.

Diana said...

If you find the right tattoo artist, it won't look too comical. It's a great representation of what you've been dealing with.

Cheyloe said...

I love your tattoo and idea of the birds. So lovely.