Just Some Thoughts

For some reason I have I have been thinking a lot about this, not like it is anything that really matters but just something that keeps running across my mind.

My parents live in a big house....ok, a HUGE house, and they live in a very wealthy area/ward.  Now all growing up I have always lived close to "these" wealthy people or been in the same ward as them.  (I did not grow up in the house my parents live in now) I have found it interesting how the "poor" perceive what they think the "rich" think of them.   When I was young, I remember people in my ward saying that the "rich" people called us the "DI WARD".  Well, I never felt like the the "rich" treated the "poor" unkindly, disrespectfully, nor did I think they thought they were better than us.

There was a time when my family had to rely a ton on members in our ward...rich and poor alike.  They had to take in 5 kids at a time and watch us for weeks at a time.  They fed us, cleaned our house, took us to activities, did our laundry, etc.  My mom at the time was staying in SL while my brother waited for a heart transplant and my dad had to work.  Out of the goodness of peoples hearts, they took care of us.... most of which lived in big houses....

As I grew up, and now that I am an adult, I continue to see such great things continue to happen.  And you know what, it is mostly those "rich" people who are doing so much to help my family out.  There have been times that my parents have had their heads barely above water and the bishop will show up at the door with a $2000 check from someone in the ward that thought my parents might need some help.  Or, drop off an entire Christmas on the doorstep.  Or, bring in 3 months worth of food.  Countless things have gone on.

Now, this is what has been on my mind.  While I lived in MO, I remember Mable Wilkins saying in a RS lesson that sometimes we perceive things that aren't so depending on our situation.  So as I have thought about that, I have thought about how the "poor" think the "rich" think they are better than them.  I don't believe that is so at all.  I believe the "poor" perceive something that is not so because of the situation they are in.  If only they would open their eyes and see how much good these people are doing.  I believe that the "rich" don't even think about the "poor" being "poor".  I think they just look at a situation and say, I think they might need some help, how can I help. 

{Another example to maybe illustrate what is in my head is........which has nothing to do about this post........but, I feel like I am humungo prego, so I think everything thinks I am humungo prego, but really, a lot of people have told me they can't believe how good I look for being so far along.  Does that make sense?  So because I am feeling a certain way, I perceive that others are thinking the same way......}

Now I know that this is not always the case, and there are those who think they are better than others....but, all I have seen from those I have been around is good, and they are always doing good.  They have even done little things like bring in a meal when they know my mom is busy getting ready for a wedding.  So simple yet helped so much.  I guess I have just felt bad as I have driven around the areas I have lived here in Smithfield and it has kind of made me sad that people think the way they do.  I have people ask me all the time, "Oh, how is being in THAT ward".  Well, the people in it are great and they do great things.  I feel like they are living life right, and they run the ward right, and they just do everything right. 

I'm not sure any of this makes much sense but I just wanted to write about it.  I know that I have been learning from this and am trying not to perceive things that aren't true based on how I am feeling or what is going on in my life, and, I guess a part of me wants to defend those that are doing so much good.  I hope that one day, I can be "rich" and help the "poor" as much as I have seen them help us.