Dumpster Diving

“Things are not always as they seem.”

More often than I care to admit, I find myself in embarrassing situations where the best I can hope for is to laugh alongside the people who are laughing at me. 

Like the day I stopped at the gas station on my way home from getting duplicate keys made at The Home Depot.  Per our usual gas station “pit stop drill,” the kids and I rifled through the car and throw all the trash into the bin near the pump.  (My teenage daughter had been driving that car lately, so today was quite a haul).

When we got home, and I couldn’t find the key duplicates, my mind flashed back to the gas station.  They had been in a small, lightweight paper bag, so someone must have accidentally thrown them out.  We quickly got back in the car and zipped to the station.  

I nonchalantly walked over to the trash can and peered inside. Since everyone seemed to be busy filling up their cars, I quickly rifled through the trash on the top.  No luck.  I’d have to dig deeper. Since my arms were too short to reach the bottom of the canister, I pulled off its plastic covering and hauled the bag out on to the concrete.  Throwing stealth to the wind, and gagging a little, I opened the bag, and started sorting through soda cans, chewed gum, half-filled coffee cups, and used napkins. No keys. 

As I stood up to put everything back, my eyes met those of a couple sitting in a big Ford pickup on the other side of the gas pump.  Their faces showed compassion, or maybe pity, as they talked to each other behind rolled-up windows. I knew they were talking about me.  

Hoping to explain myself, I walked over and motioned for the man to roll down his window. “We were talking about how we might help you,” he said.  I explained the mystery of the lost keys and we laughed out loud together.  They were thankful I wasn’t dumpster diving to feed my kids and I was thankful for laughter to replace my stress.

Driving away, I was reminded of how quickly I sometimes judge others.  Like the single mom on her phone at the playground.  Shouldn’t she be playing with her toddler?  Or the homeless man on the corner holding a cardboard sign.  Couldn’t he work at McDonald’s?  

The Bible teaches us in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and the with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 

Who have you judged lately?  Could their circumstances be different than what you see?  What if we replaced judgment with compassion, and criticism with kindness?   

We just might be surprised what we discover… like the missing keys, which had been at the bottom of my purse the whole time. 

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