The Bigger Half - Large families, food stamps, and deductive reasoning

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Large families, food stamps, and deductive reasoning

I'm back. Sorry for the confusion. We'll get things back to normal here shortly.

In the meantime...
       I wish I could share with ya'll the exact words of an anonymus comment I received yesterday morning in response to my post about expecting our 6th baby. Alas, it's gone as with everything else I'd had posted. The gist of it was, "people like you make me sick. You say the Lord is providing for you but you're on food stamps which means it's my tax dollars feeding your ridiculosly large family. Get on birth control." I don't remember word for word (it was a good bit longer) as I was more than a little shocked, having never had anything so absoulutely cruel said to me in my life.
        A couple things stood out, though. I've been chewing on this since I read it and I believe I know who the Commenter is and would, for a moment, like to address her.
     The first and most obvious clue to your identity is your knowing that my family receives food stamps. This means that you know my family personally, apart from my blog. Secondly, I believe you claim to be a Christian by your use of "The Lord" and not "Your God", that narrows it down further. Also, you're the only person that I know that would (even claiming Christ) deliberately seek to hurt me (and know where to find my blog), particularly in regards to child-rearing and family. You never responded to my email sharing the pregnancy news with you, though I know you read it. You would have been hurt maybe by my sharing my heart about the law and so maybe you felt justified in hurting me back (though why on this topic and not that, I don't know), but I suspect you were angry and bitter way before that. Well, I want you to know that I forgive you. I'm very, very sorry you feel the way you do - about me and my family and about yourself and your children. I pray for you daily and truly do love you, even if we butt heads sometimes. You are still welcome in my home and welcome to share our food (as you have many times without issue).

Now, as for my thoughts about foodstamps....
        I long to be off food stamps. I hate relying on the govenment for food (or anything). My family is working very hard toward this end by praying fervrently, getting out of debt, living frugally, and establishing a homestead where we can raise most of our own food.  In the meantime, food stamps are the way the Lord has provided. It's our tax dollars, too! You and I would still have to pay the same amount of taxes toward welfare no matter how many children I have or whether or not I receive assistance. I should also mention there is absolutely no crime in receiving food stamps. It's not like I'm lying or stealing. This is the provision made for families in our country who have a hard time scraping by.  My family is not one of those lazy folks that sit around and lives off the government with no intent to change. We work hard and don't complain.
      That said, I hate the system (not a complaint - a fact). It's rotten to the core and has taken an independent nation and created a dependent nation out of it (not without the help of the people, of course!). If it weren't so corrupt we'd all be able to provide plenty of food for our own families AND enough for the widows and orphans and other needy peoples. Welfare is a church issue, not a government issue. The government lacks the two crucial elements for proper welfare - discernment and compassion. Shame on the church for giving it up! When I was first in a position of need, when Bobby and I were seperated for awhile in '03, I turned to my church body for help and they looked at me in horror and told me to go get on food stamps.  We've been receiving food stamps ever since.  We have never liked it and like I said, have been working our way off it. Much more difficult with the price of everything rising. Here's some of the steps we're taking:
     Constant prayer for wisdom and provision - for us and our nation
     Getting out of debt (including a commitment to never borrow again)
     Living frugally in a hundred other ways ("Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" is our new household motto)
     Raising chickens for eggs and, soon, meat
     Raising goats for milk and meat (buy a place with outbuildings and fencing if at all possible!  Knowing what I know now, having had to start from scratch, I would have given up a lot in the way of people housing to have critter housing and fencing)
      Not owning any animals that don't earn their keep
      Gardening & putting food by, including starting my plants from seeds and saving my own seeds for the purpose of a) perserving varieties that the government can't touch and b) saving money
      Learning to buy and cook frugally for a time when our food provision isn't so abundant

I should note that we're raising our children to be hard workers and dependent on the Lord and hopefully they will not make some of the ignorant mistakes we did and won't need to turn to such a faulty system. At any rate, they'll grow and learn to trust the Lord and will be an asset to society and not a liability- shouldn't we have a couple dozen kids, then?
Ya know, I think there's something much deeper going on when someone thinks you're having too many kids. I don't think it's about what you can afford... most of the time it doesn't affect anyone else anyway. It's not about food or shelter, not about clothes or toys, not about college or cars.... Hopefully it's not about not having enough love and attention... So what is it? What is it really that makes some people just look down at you when you have more than your 2.5 and a dog?

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Comments

Saturday, June 7, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by GypsyFarmGirl

Bravo sister!!, I remember when my then boyfriend and I were just starting out with a young daughter we had while in Highschool, we were on food stamps for a lil while, and Jason worked hard, it was not his doing that the company he worked for went bankrupt leaving us with no money or nothing to care for us. Shame on those that blast the few that do try to not need assistance but subsequently it may be the only route until an alternative is found. My mother was a single mom for some time raising 5 kids she worked 3 different jobs and still didnt make enough money to pay rent, utilities and food on the table, was it her fault that the men in her lives left and took the money with them?leaving my mother in debt...... Hmmm gosh forbid this person to whom you may know that left that comment ever find themselves in a dilema to where they will need assitance at any point in their lives, regardless if its welfare or not.

JEANNIE