Project Pretty Feet Complete!!

Ever since I had broke my habit of chewing my nails over a year ago, all that spare time moved to picking at my feet. I would pick the dry skin until my feet were raw and bleeding. I started Project Pretty Feet back in April, in an attempt to get my feet healthy again, and October was my deadline and I would be getting my long awaited tattoo.
Well today is October 30th and I got my tattoo, with one day to spare!!!
Here it is:

So you may be wondering....why a lightning bolt?
I chose a three tier lightning bolt for 3 reasons. I wanted something to symbolize my life and salvation.
Tier #1:
This is for the first time I ever remember feeling the power of a higher being. I was about 7 years old, and we were on a family camping trip. We went for a hike along the dunes of Lake Michigan around dusk. This was very common for our family during that time, we did a lot of camping and outdoor activities. This is the first time I truly remember falling in love with the water. I stood on top of that sand dune, and breathed in the cool, sandy air. There was a storm making it's way in off the lake. The horizon line was getting very dark and you could see lightning lighting up the horizon. We stayed there for a bit and watched the storm. It was moving in very fast. I remember this being the first time I was in complete awe of creation and knew there was a God, a powerful God.

Tier #2:
This is for my salvation. I was 17 years old, and my life was falling apart beneath my feet. My parents got divorced, I had no real place to call home, my relationship with my boyfriend of 4 years ended, my mother and I became estranged, and I hadn't talked to my dad in years.
I was living with my grandparents and I was dating Rodney at the time. I was at his house, and I began to see a pattern in my life, a pattern of hurt and pain and I didn't want any part of it. I had lost hope in love and happiness, I believed it was a thing no married person could ever obtain. Rodney and I got into a huge fight, and I ended up storming out, getting in my truck and speeding home to my grandparents house. I was yelling and cursing God. I hated my life and I hated him. I saw Rodney and I's relationship heading in the same direction as my last relationship.
It was storming really bad that night, and raining cats and dogs. I had my "famous" green jacket on, and I had the hood on still. I approached the train tracks that only had a stop sign. And everyone knows, there is hardly a train that goes by, so one just usually pauses and goes. I paused, looked to my left and to my right and continued to go, at that moment I heard a loud blast, whipped my hood off and saw the light. I kicked it into reverse and hit the gas. Swooosh!! I hadn't seen the train because when I looked right, I was actually looking at the inside part of my hood. At this point, keep in mind I am still crying, screaming and cursing. This shook me up big time.

"You have told every lightning bolt where it should go"

About 2 miles down the road after the train, I was pleading with God. Yelling at him for all the pain and hurt in my life. Told him how sucky of a God he was. I cried out help me, save me from myself! A huge lightning bolt came down right in front of my truck in the middle of the cornfield I was next to. My mouth shut, and I slammed on my brakes and I sat on the side of the road for 20 minutes praying and talking to my God. Telling him about the hurt in my life and asking Him to be Lord over my life, because I was the one doing a pretty sucky job at trying to do it on my own. I walked into the door at my grandparents, soaking wet, and my Grandpa looked at me and asked me what was wrong. He said I was pale and looked like I had seen a ghost. I replied...ehh something like that. I didn't end up telling Rodney for about 3 weeks.

Tier #3:
This is for truly deciding to have the Lord guide and direct our lives. We had been married for 2 years and I had just had River. We were ready to settle in the mundane life of Rodney working at a factory for the rest of his life, being lukewarm believers, and being a volunteer at our church. We knew there was more, but we didn't know how to get there. I like to say God gave us a little push. River was born at the end of May and on July 4th Rodney's company got struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Here we were with a newborn baby and no job. God used this time to really prepare our hearts and our dependence on him. It was a slow process, but this event ultimately led us to New Tribes and we never turned back since.