5/10/2005 09:01:00 AM|||Laura|||The summer I was eighteen, my friends and I would put on the skimpiest bathing suits we could find and lay out next to my boyfriend's pool to bake ourselves. We maintained our tans religiously, exposing ourselves to the sun and soaking it in. The process was great, from being oiled up by boyfriends who were delighted to help, to that prickly feeling our skins got before we'd get up and jump in the pool to cool off. It fed our egos. When we went out, we were secure in the knowledge that we had the deepest and best tans in the place. We had it all, and our futures were assured. We didn't know then that exposure to the sun had all kinds of detrimental effects - we would look older faster, and risked cancer that could even kill us. The world is strange like that; what we think is good for us now often has the completely opposite effect in the long term.
Now the tan I seek is entirely different. Some things are the same; it takes a lot of maintenance and purposeful planning to acquire. It takes time and patience. The process is still great. And when I have been working on this tan, I'm secure in the knowledge that it's a great tan, I feel better and look better when I have it. What is different is that this tan is not about me. It deflates my ego as I see things in perspective. I soak in the glory of the Son through exposure to His word, and that Sontan changes how I look. My skin is not darker, but it does have a bit of a glow as joy can't help but show on my countenance. And even though I couldn't fit into that old bathing suit now - it's been 18 years! - I am more beautiful than I have ever been because I'm peaceful and secure in the knowledge this time I really do have it all; my future is assured. As for the effects of this tan - in the short term it may make me a little uncomfortable sometimes as some people conclude I must be an idiot for wanting to live this way, but the eternal effects can't be beat.|||111366449088205306|||Getting a Tan6/24/2005 8:10 AM|||Professor Lance|||Nice tan.7/18/2005 12:43 PM|||Sha|||I liked your story of your old man, suntan to your new man Sontan. What a great comparison. I found your site, because we both have a common interest=bible study.
I've been a bible student for over 25 years, but it never gets old, because as we stay meek to God's word the blessings keep coming in.
I'll probably visit you again sometime.
See you,
sha7/19/2005 12:23 PM||||||You shall not kill, so forget about guns young lady.7/20/2005 10:11 PM|||Debbie Auld|||Laura, I loved this entry.
I found your blog through a seach of interests on guns. I have the same interests.
God bless you.7/20/2005 10:37 PM|||Laura|||Your Conscience - I won't murder, I can promise you that. But I would certainly kill someone in the right circumstances - that is to say, defense.