Charlotte, contented

Picture: starbucks, airport. Not one of those 30-year-old, low-ceiling airports with winding, sprawling concourses like you find in the northeast. No, Charlotte airport is a shiny, streamlined, enticing playground where every type of food and drink is at your fingertips and the wireless internet is free. I should know: I've spent a total of 12 hours here in the past two weeks and have roughly 3 more to go. Despite the many enticements, however, I'm in a baaad mood. Flying is awful, these days. Refreshments aren't even free (did you know that??? they charge 2 dollars for a coke), nor are checked bags. So, either you fork out the cost of a plan ticket all over again or you're carting the largest carry-on you're allowed, a water bottle, a meal, a coat, and a briefcase across miles and miles of shiny floors. I, of course, chose the latter. I guess somehow I've become fudamentally opposed to spending money on unnecessary convenience, and I CERTAINLY don't respond well when I feel like I'm being 'tricked' into paying for things I shouldn't even need. Anyone? With me?

You may feel you've been misled by the subject line. Hmm, you're thinking, that paragraph doesn't sound contented, it sounds more like an angry, disgruntled rant. You might even be thinking, what's your problem? You're 25, well-traveled, and in good shape! Quit your whining... is that what you're thinking??;)

Well, you're right. So right. And about 20 minutes ago it occurred to me that I've been irritable and cranky all day, holding back rude thoughts towards the pushy woman next to me or the man behind me who talks to loud. I've felt justified in my irritation: PAYING for drinks? being CRAMMED into small spaces? What an injustice!

But thank the mercy of God, I'm not staying in that moody headspace. Generosity yearns to be set free in our souls. Wisdom cries in the street. Love is desperate to be free from the restrictions of fear and self-centeredness. Though it is said so often, it is rarely acknowledged in my life, so I'll say it again and again:

We have been given so much. We have been given soooo much. So what will we make of it?