With This Ring I Thee Wed

Once again, Orcrist has written a wonderful piece about a special event we shared this week! I'm so blessed that he is not only my husband, but so wonderfully thoughtful and thought provoking!
-KtC


For our 10th anniversary my wife and I gave each other custom designed, matching wedding band tattoos on our left ring fingers. It is something we had talked about earlier in our marriage and we felt it was the right time to do it. We won't stop wearing the gold wedding rings we gave each other when we confirmed our vows on our wedding day though.

The design is a three stranded cord, which separates with each strand working to form part of a heart and then coming together to reform the cord. It is taken from the bible verse we used as the theme of our wedding: Ecclesiastes 4:12, "A cord of three strands is not easily torn apart." It represents the three relationships in our marriage that we need to keep it strong. My wife, Myself, and God.

Permanent wedding bands as our anniversary gift to each other.

The symbolism behind the fact, that they are actual tattoos is almost as powerful as the design and possibly more so then our actual wedding rings. Wedding rings have a lot going for them. They are a powerful and classic symbol of commitment and their historical use in weddings goes back hundreds of years. They look nice and can be passed on as heirlooms to children and family.

However, I have come to realize that a tattoo ring is almost more powerful then a ring as a symbol of commitment. They are in all respects permanent. I can't take it off, or lose it. I can't hide it, or pretend it isn't there. For better or worse, I will always have the symbol of my commitment to my wife visible on my finger. The permanency part is powerful. Yes, it is convenient that the ink is under the skin. There is no physical object to to be removed or get in the way if I go into surgery or get a job where I can't wear any metal objects. I will always have the visible ring.

Even hypothetically it is a powerful symbol. If one of us was tempted to break our vows and cheat with another person, well, the ring would be evident there as well to all involved. I will never be able to hide my commitment to my wife or slip it into my pocket temporarily. Yes, a tattoo can be removed, but it requires time, money, premeditation, pain, and minor surgery.

Another hypothetical situation. Lets say I was in a position like Abram in the old testament when he went to a foreign land (Egypt) and was confronted by someone powerful and asked about this woman who was with him.... I couldn't deny that we are married as he did. We have matching identical, non removable images on our fingers. Even a child could figure out that we are probably married and that I know her and she knows me in a deep personal way.

This is what I like about the new rings. They are so similar to our original wedding rings, yet so different in many ways. We will of course keep both, but from now on, I really won't ever be removing the ring my wife gave me ever again. That is a powerful statement.