Maybe, Just Maybe…

The next time you are thinking nasty things about the person in front of you using food stamps, consider this. Maybe she lost everything in the hurricane. Maybe he lost his wife to cancer and has 3 kids to raise alone. Maybe she’s got MS or another chronic disease and can’t work. Maybe he’s an only child who had to quit work to care for his mom who has Alzheimer. Maybe she just left her abusive husband and has to make a new start. Maybe he’s in college and supporting his younger siblings because his mom’s in jail and his dad’s a deadbeat. Maybe her husband got laid off from his well-paying job and she had been a stay at home mom caring for their disabled child. Maybe they are human, just like you, except you’ve had just a little more luck along the way. Maybe someday you’ll find yourself in their shoes. Maybe you should be counting your blessings instead of scorning their misfortune. Maybe you should learn to empathize instead of criticize. We’re all in this together. Maybe we should love thy neighbor rather than hate what we can’t relate to or understand.