wowza thats great jiwall !!!
... i think i quit about a month after you did !
for me.... when i tried the nic. gum, nic. patch, carrot sticks (which incidentally worked for a friend of mine), ... all these things didn't work for me.
.... it seemed i would quit and be at my strongest ... and then every day i would get a little weaker and weaker. sometimes i could only go 1 day, others i could go for months; i quit once for 7 months; but it was sheer torture ... and i was not really worth being around LOL. finally, i just accepted the fact that i was gonna be a smoker because i wasn't gonna live my life in a constant fight of depreviation from the time i got up until i went to bed. and didn't think anything more of it. i figured that if the Lord wanted me to quit smoking He would have to reveal it to me supernaturally; afterall he had delivered me from other sins, that i was powerfully addicted to ... so, it would also be with smoking.
For me, it was understanding the reason i smoked ... which i didn't seek out on my own, it was revealed to me by our Lord. well, i asked Him ... but it was more tongue in cheek ... i was reading a book, and the author said, according to her research ... "... every area of bondage can be linked back to a lie"... i thought it was a pretty bold and blanketing statement ... so i asked Him.... because with my smoking, i didn't believe that it was bondage ... i believed it was just, like 'hereditary' sort of ... all my family smokes .... i just figured that was the reason, i grew up around it, so it was inevitable that i would also be a smoker.
wow did He humble me .... i was so wrong .... the author was right .... my smoking was a bondage and it was linked to a lie, that i started to believe when i was 5 years old.
i woke up that thursday morning a smoker at 3:30 am; still had nic. patches in the bathroom from the last time i tried to quit; had 1/2 a pack. and a full pack. in the cupboard. .... by 6:30 am that same morning i was delivered from my bondage by truth ... threw out the 1/2 pack and returned the remaining package (i know the lady at the store where i used to buy them)
thats why i now believe that addictions/bondages are very personal; at least it was for me.
perhaps there are some that it isn't this way; darrell (hubby) quit 4 years ago ... and he says when your done ... your done, you just know its time. he says, to this day he doesn't crave a cigg, and feels like he has always been a non-smoker!!
now in defense of my position and that of the author's research ... i believe that addictions are somewhat different for women than men .... maybe.
keep at it sister, you WILL get it .... well as an afterthought ... i did start to cut down years ago ... i gave up my morning smoke ... like i would do my work out first ... and then always try and push that first smoke off ... so eventually i didn't have my first smoke until sometime between 10 and 12 depending on what i was doing. at my point of quitting, i smoked 2 packs a week. for me it was a control issue ...
i don't know if thats the information you are looking for goldie? i will be praying for God to make His way clear for you and for you to faith in your choice, whatever that may be !!
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:51 am
flutey good point sis. I dont have any left and i havent gone to the store. So, ima try!!!! God help me!
ty all for the suggestions, i will need some coping techniques and part of it is gonna be reading in the Bible and praying, i may need to get some candy or chew gum or something. Ty all for being there for me.
