Judy's Smoking Addiction

Cigarettes: A fire at one end and a fool at the other. Kurt Vonnegut

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1 Corinthians 6:19 says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should keep it holy. What does that mean? Some impossible thing for us to do? Nope. Just a health suggestion from God so that we don't have to suffer the consequences of our bad choices. We shouldn't put anything into our bodies that isn't healthy - fatty foods, too much sugar, alcohol, dope, even cigarettes.

It was so cool to smoke when I was a little girl. Mother did it. Auntie Della did it. Even the movie stars did it. How romantic when the guy would light two cigarettes at the same time and give one to the female star!

We kids picked up butts off the street and puffed on them. We also dried Red Bud leaves to smoke in rolled up paper bags. Then when we got out of grade school, we quit doing that; because only white trash kids smoked.

When I got out of high school though, I was so ashamed of my nails that were bitten past the quick. I thought maybe if I smoked, I could quit biting my nails. Didn't work.

At first, I hid the fact that I was smoking. I forgot how George found out, but he did. And, what's "funny" is that he was smoking and hiding it from ME, too. We both took off full-bloom after that.

I'd been smoking so long and so many packs a day that I thought I could never quit. After all, I'd been smoking for over 45 years. But I did.

I quit smoking on October 1, 2004. Why? I LITERALLY almost smothered to death. I was smoking three packs a day. That caused my lungs to completely fill up with phlegm. The doctor said my lungs were almost as hard as a rock when she tapped on them. There was no room left for air. She acted so disgusted with me and just walked out of the room, but not before she first told me ... "As long as you keep smoking like you are, YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!"

The way I quit was chewing gum CONSTANTLY. In addition, every time I wanted a cigarette, I thought to myself...

WHICH HURTS MORE -
THIS DESIRE FOR A CIGARETTE OR SMOTHERING TO DEATH?

Jesus helped me out a lot in conquering my addiction. Like He promised:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13:

I also had my family as examples. Auntie Della smothered to death because of cigarettes when she tried to have gastric by-pass surgery. It was awful. I didn't want to die like she did. In addition, mother died of respiratory arrest. Why, I don't know. I do know that I don't want to die that way either!

SO .... I QUIT!

Dr. Zimmerman no longer treats me with contempt. She's so happy with me for following her instructions (stopped smoking, got my thyroid and chlorestorol under control, reduced my high blood sugar in half, etc.). She told me ... "YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A VERY GOOD SUMMER".

But I am STILL a smoker. I still want a cigarette several times a month. Often, I will think ... "I'll go have a cigarette first". Then I realize ... "Wait a minute. I don't smoke any more".

Those are just warning signs that being a Nicotine Addict is the same as being an Alcoholic. The addiction is always there; it never goes away. I just must be diligent moment by moment and never give in to cigarettes again.

I don't want to smother to death. I really, really don't!