"Whose garbage are you receiving?"

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Lots of "stuff" happens everyday in life. An example is when someone does what I refer to as "delivering the mail to the wrong address," meaning that even though she is really upset with what her boss said about the quality of her work, she takes it out on you for not putting enough cream in her coffee or some other insignificant faux pas on your part. Obviously you have no idea what’s going on with her and it’s easy to take her words personally.

Another way of talking about a situation like this in which the chastisement doesn’t equal the infraction occurred to me recently while driving home from a business lunch. I got behind a garbage truck and unfortunately the cover wasn’t closed on it. Trash started blowing out of it. And I thought, "That truck is dumping the garbage in the wrong yard." When did that last happen to you?

Whether it’s delivered mail or dumped garbage, sometimes it winds up on you. Don’t return the favor. Take a deep breath, and as you exhale slowly, ask God to help you understand the person who’s wronging you as you make a life.

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