What's In Your Bag?

Written in first person, experience a moment in this woman's life that changed everything simply by being asked, 'What's in your bag?'. The narrator, a grown woman, shares an experience as a teenager in a group of other teens her age, in a basement classroom of an old brick community church, when their wonderful leader walks in with her hands laden. In one hand is a plate of homemade, beautifully decorated cupcakes. In the other, she has three heavy bags; a purse, a diaper bag, a thick plastic bag from their local grocery market. The leader asks the group of older teen girls to please come forward and take a bag. The narrator accepts the diaper bag. A wealthy neighbor girl takes the purse. And a girl from a large, struggling family accepts the third bag. They are then asked to reveal the contents of each of the bags they selected. And while they do, the narrator discovers a misplaced business card with an appointment reminder for an Oncologist for their Leader. Quickly, she realizes she knows a secret that the Leader had no intention of sharing with the girls. And as the lesson progresses, she listens with a different perspective and an inspiring view of the Leader asking them, what does your purse's contents tell us about who you are. This fictional short story is written for teens. And though the audience is for females, it is written to inspire readers to think about who they are to the world outside. How are they going to be known and recorded by those influenced by their presence, and how can they go about changing so that their character states: 'I am a daughter of a divine loving God, and I am here to serve Him.'