- Aug 4, 2003
- 3,705
- 270
- 57
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- CA-Conservatives
I first smoked when I was 11 years old. Mostly my mom's butts out of the ashtray. I know, gross eh? I picked it up on a semi-regular basis when I was 13 and was a full time smoker by 16.
I smoked a pack a day minimum for 19 years. I would love to share with you how I quit.
It was two days before my 35th birthday. I was a 5 month old Christian at the time. My parents were visiting from back east and my little brother who was also a brand new Christian was with us along with my (then) boyfriend.
We went to a bookstore/coffee shop and I was looking for a bible for my brother since he didn't have one. I found one and bought it for him. I ran out of smokes so I went next door to buy a pack and came back to sit with the family.
Now I should mention that I'd been thinking about quitting. The number 35 loomed large to me as that's the age all the doctors say that women's likelihood of having a stroke or heart disease significantly increases if you're still smoking. I wanted to quit and God knew it. I just couldn't seem to do it on my own. I was tired of coughing, tired of heavy breathing from walking up a hill, tired of wasting nearly ten bucks a day so some fat cat corporate jerks could make money off of me while killing me.
So I decide to have a smoke and my dad, out of the blue says "Why don't you make that your last pack Paula?"
And it just clicks right then and there- why DON'T I ??
and I said "You know Dad, I want to. I think I will."
And my little brother, smart that he is grabs the bible I just bought him and shoves it in my face with a wicked grin saying "Swear! Swear on this bible that you'll quit!"
And so there it was. My golden opportunity to prove my love for Christ. He knew how much I loved my cigarettes. He also knew how bad they were for me.
I was so grateful for my new life though, that I REALLY WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHiNG TO HIM FOR A CHANGE. I wanted to give HIM a gift. And in that moment, I decided to give Him my addiction to cigarettes. I put my hand on the bible, and in front of the people I love the most in this world, I swore that after I had finished that pack, I would never smoke another cigarette. I gave my word in front of God, my parents, my man, and my brother. If I broke my word, what did I have then? I had to do it.
The next day, as I was down to one cigarette, I decided not to smoke it. My man and my best friend prayed over me before I went to sleep - they prayed for healing, they prayed for no pain, they prayed for success.
The prayers worked. I had quit before but this time was different. There were no painful withdrawls, no dizziness. I never smoked again. It has been almost two years now.
What did it for me though was the thought that I had given my Saviour a gift that was VERY valuable to me and I could NEVER IMAGINE ASKING HIM TO GIVE IT BACK TO ME. Could you?
God bless you all. You can do it. Give your gift to Christ.
I smoked a pack a day minimum for 19 years. I would love to share with you how I quit.
It was two days before my 35th birthday. I was a 5 month old Christian at the time. My parents were visiting from back east and my little brother who was also a brand new Christian was with us along with my (then) boyfriend.
We went to a bookstore/coffee shop and I was looking for a bible for my brother since he didn't have one. I found one and bought it for him. I ran out of smokes so I went next door to buy a pack and came back to sit with the family.
Now I should mention that I'd been thinking about quitting. The number 35 loomed large to me as that's the age all the doctors say that women's likelihood of having a stroke or heart disease significantly increases if you're still smoking. I wanted to quit and God knew it. I just couldn't seem to do it on my own. I was tired of coughing, tired of heavy breathing from walking up a hill, tired of wasting nearly ten bucks a day so some fat cat corporate jerks could make money off of me while killing me.
So I decide to have a smoke and my dad, out of the blue says "Why don't you make that your last pack Paula?"
And it just clicks right then and there- why DON'T I ??
and I said "You know Dad, I want to. I think I will."
And my little brother, smart that he is grabs the bible I just bought him and shoves it in my face with a wicked grin saying "Swear! Swear on this bible that you'll quit!"
And so there it was. My golden opportunity to prove my love for Christ. He knew how much I loved my cigarettes. He also knew how bad they were for me.
I was so grateful for my new life though, that I REALLY WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHiNG TO HIM FOR A CHANGE. I wanted to give HIM a gift. And in that moment, I decided to give Him my addiction to cigarettes. I put my hand on the bible, and in front of the people I love the most in this world, I swore that after I had finished that pack, I would never smoke another cigarette. I gave my word in front of God, my parents, my man, and my brother. If I broke my word, what did I have then? I had to do it.
The next day, as I was down to one cigarette, I decided not to smoke it. My man and my best friend prayed over me before I went to sleep - they prayed for healing, they prayed for no pain, they prayed for success.
The prayers worked. I had quit before but this time was different. There were no painful withdrawls, no dizziness. I never smoked again. It has been almost two years now.
What did it for me though was the thought that I had given my Saviour a gift that was VERY valuable to me and I could NEVER IMAGINE ASKING HIM TO GIVE IT BACK TO ME. Could you?
God bless you all. You can do it. Give your gift to Christ.
