A new bag

I had been contemplating joining the ranks of those who do not check luggage for a while. Surely, I thought to myself, I could manage, even on a transatlantic flight, with just carry on. So I looked at bags in stores and wondered.

Time grew closer to my trips and I remembered seeing a bag I liked in a favorite store - so I went back , feeling a little guilty, I have to confess - after all did I really NEED this bag or should I simply borrow one of my kids bags and go ahead and check. The bag was not there and I didn't like the others - either through looks or price - so I decided that I would leave it.

I went on this first trip carrying just a backpack and a purse - two nights was easy. I was not looking forward to retrieving the big bag from the attic during my few hours at home but the children grabbed me when I arrived and dragged me to our bedroom - we got you a present they announced.

You guessed it - there on the bed was the very case I had like so much all those weeks before. I have no idea how they managed it - or how they knew that was the one - I guess they just know me pretty well - although it is orange and I never have orange - so it makes it all the more remarkable.

I would have coped fine without it but it sure is nice to be flying without thoughts of the crowded baggage hall and the perpetual worry that I will fall onto the baggage belt or be unable to retrieve my bag easily.

It is nice to have nice things of abundance, even when we do not need them to survive. I was thinking yesterday of Churches with plain glass that celebrate God's abundance and the places where they are sitting - the world outside the window is living stained glass  - a testament to Gods generosity.

So I look at my new bag and smile, grateful for a family who love me enough to negotiate my, sometimes, unpredictable tastes - and grateful for God from whom all generosity and abundance flow.