Today I am lucky enough to be sitting in the first class cabin. A nice man serves drinks on trays in real glass cups. Even though I drink from real glass at home this feels like a luxury on the airplane, because it is. First class is expensive and if you are willing to pay for the extra butt space and cushy chairs then lucky you! Today it is “lucky me” because being married to a pilot is not without its perks.

But I feel like an imposter. As passengers tug their luggage to the back cabin I wonder if they think “how come she gets to sit there? She doesn’t look rich, famous or important.” I feel like they have x-ray vision into my checking account and know I only have $13 there. I’m sure they know my shoes are from a bargain bin. I feel like a misfit amongst the glitzy.

Our society is so enraptured by the outer trappings of one another that we frequently don’t bother to look at the soul. As a 9th grader I pedaled my bike to all the thrift stores in town and put together a school wardrobe with only $26. I may have looked cute and trendy but I was afraid everybody knew I was wearing their last years clothes. What was on the outside mattered most to me – it has taken me my whole life to figure out that I am worth something because of my character, not because of my appearance.

We embalm our character in trappings that are nothing more than paper scraps that will deteriorate with time and exposure to the elements of life. Its time we placed value on one another by our character not by our appearance or accumulation of stuff. But here is the gut punch – before we can appreciate a persons character and soul we have to get close enough to hear their hearts. We dare not make assessments of future friends from a distance. Get closer. Close enough to hear their hearts.