OK So lately I have been seeing a lot of posts on face book and hearing a lot of comments about people on welfare and also using food stamps .
One that was very disturbing was about a mother who was buying food with food card and her kids were playing with their expensive , fancy, phones . the feeling was that if a person is using food stamps then they sure as heck shouldn't be allowed to have a cell much less several and also a fancy i phone. So I ask myself ,What is really known about this family ?  Perhaps the parents just lost a job say 3 months ago . last time I check a contract for phones could be 1 ,2 or a 5 year commitment . And they don't let you off . Also I have known Grandparents who buy the contract so that their grand kids have a way to contact them in need as alot of welfare people don't have land lines. I have seen absentee dads buy fancy things for their kids to make up for the fact that they don't send child support.   Who knows who those kids really belong to , some of them could have been friends ,cousins , even foster kids. The truth is the only thing known about the family was they have food stamps and the kids enjoy playing on cell phones. How can people be so judgemental .
When I got married I had my whole life planed . I was going to have a beautiful big house that I was going to fill with kids . I thought 10 was a good number . I was going to own my own daycare center . My husband was going to own his own cabinet shop and do exclusive work for the richest people. Well then life and adventure kick in . I was not healthy enough to have ten kids and after some close calls we called it quits at having biological children and so we adopted . bringing our total to 8 living children and 1 dead. We moved around alot and I never did get to own my own daycare but I do work part time as a teacher aid and my husband is a drug addiction counselor . but what about the ups and downs , who knew that he was going to be ill with chronic fatigue .Altho he manages it well now, there were a few years that I didn't know if he was going to live another day . Knowing how cruel people are I shopped at second hand stores and bought name brands for half the price . So my kids could go on vacation I volunteered as a 4H leader so they could go to Lagoon at a cheaper price . I bought tents and went to visit relatives . Not only did we deal with my husbands Illness but we also had under employment . for several years my husband work at what ever jobs he could get to make ends meet . Then when he finally got full employment The company shut down unemploying around 200 people. Lucky we now have steady employment again . through all of this I payed my tithing ,sent sons on missions and kids to collage . I don't believe my life is much different than alot of people .
I will tell you now that I had food stamps  off and on through all of this. Just recently we have had another blow to our family. Because I was emotionally upset , I didn't pay my car payment , Twice !
Now how this could happen is beyond me I always pay my bills and My credit rating is is very good .The first time could have been excusable but the second was crazy . I actually went and check my back accounting to make sure that I hadn't payed because I thought I had . anyway buy the time I realized the mistake I had spent the money on food and other things . Not knowing what I was going to do for food after I made the payments up I got a letter in the mail saying that I had some money left in my food stamp account (this was from the previous summer when my husband was looking for work). I thought it was a direct blessing from always paying my tithing . But I guess not ,I must just be some selfish low life living off the good works of all those wonderful successful people around me.

I guess that what I am trying to say is ,

Don't judge someone till you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Judge not, that  ye be not judged . (Matthew7:1)

And now , my beloved brethren, seeing ye know the light by which ye may judge , which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully ; for with that same judgement which ye judge ye shall also be judged. (Moroni 7:18)

Natalie