A Wrecked Church!

[HeavenBound]

After reading these inspiring stories, I am once again refortified. When I woke this morning I felt a burden for someone, I prayed with tears running down my face asking God to please help us to do his will. I am totally convinced we are doing what He wants and that He will see us through.
Since everyone is sharing stories this is mine. I was a smoker for 46 years, my husband smoked also but quit about 16 years before I did. Of course like all who quit he nagged me to quit. Like all who don't I said I will when I'm ready. In March of 2009 I decided I was ready, got my Doctor to prescribe Chantix. I couldn't take it, for some reason it made me very sick. I tried the old fashioned way, just quit. lol, I didn't last 30 minutes. Did I mention I was a 3 pack a day smoker? So since I couldn't use a crutch, I didn't have any will power, I felt defeated and was smoking more than ever. This kept bearing on me, April 6, 2009 I woke around 4:00am , I went into our kitchen and lit my first cigarette of the day. I began thinking why is it I can go to Church and do without a cigarette for hours , but, feel the need for one as soon as I leave. I started praying that minute sitting there, I prayed strongly , then I went to my knees and prayed and ask forgiveness begging to be released from this addiction. I felt a warmth go through my entire body and knew I was free. I haven't touched a cigarette since and I've suffered no withdrawal, and no cravings. When God does something he does it right. Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord! Because, without him I would still be in bondage to my addiction. God is so good to me and I Believe He will see us through this newest Trial of Faith.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by HeavenBound

After reading these inspiring stories, I am once again refortified. When I woke this morning I felt a burden for someone, I prayed with tears running down my face asking God to please help us to do his will. I am totally convinced we are doing what He wants and that He will see us through.
Since everyone is sharing stories this is mine. I was a smoker for 46 years, my husband smoked also but quit about 16 years before I did. Of course like all who quit he nagged me to quit. Like all who don't I said I will when I'm ready. In March of 2009 I decided I was ready, got my Doctor to prescribe Chantix. I couldn't take it, for some reason it made me very sick. I tried the old fashioned way, just quit. lol, I didn't last 30 minutes. Did I mention I was a 3 pack a day smoker? So since I couldn't use a crutch, I didn't have any will power, I felt defeated and was smoking more than ever. This kept bearing on me, April 6, 2009 I woke around 4:00am , I went into our kitchen and lit my first cigarette of the day. I began thinking why is it I can go to Church and do without a cigarette for hours , but, feel the need for one as soon as I leave. I started praying that minute sitting there, I prayed strongly , then I went to my knees and prayed and ask forgiveness begging to be released from this addiction. I felt a warmth go through my entire body and knew I was free. I haven't touched a cigarette since and I've suffered no withdrawal, and no cravings. When God does something he does it right. Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord! Because, without him I would still be in bondage to my addiction. God is so good to me and I Believe He will see us through this newest Trial of Faith.

That's great and awesome! You probably feel a lot better physically too, I'd imagine!

[AreYouReady?]

Originally Posted by HeavenBound

After reading these inspiring stories, I am once again refortified. When I woke this morning I felt a burden for someone, I prayed with tears running down my face asking God to please help us to do his will. I am totally convinced we are doing what He wants and that He will see us through.
Since everyone is sharing stories this is mine. I was a smoker for 46 years, my husband smoked also but quit about 16 years before I did. Of course like all who quit he nagged me to quit. Like all who don't I said I will when I'm ready. In March of 2009 I decided I was ready, got my Doctor to prescribe Chantix. I couldn't take it, for some reason it made me very sick. I tried the old fashioned way, just quit. lol, I didn't last 30 minutes. Did I mention I was a 3 pack a day smoker? So since I couldn't use a crutch, I didn't have any will power, I felt defeated and was smoking more than ever. This kept bearing on me, April 6, 2009 I woke around 4:00am , I went into our kitchen and lit my first cigarette of the day. I began thinking why is it I can go to Church and do without a cigarette for hours , but, feel the need for one as soon as I leave. I started praying that minute sitting there, I prayed strongly , then I went to my knees and prayed and ask forgiveness begging to be released from this addiction. I felt a warmth go through my entire body and knew I was free. I haven't touched a cigarette since and I've suffered no withdrawal, and no cravings. When God does something he does it right. Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord! Because, without him I would still be in bondage to my addiction. God is so good to me and I Believe He will see us through this newest Trial of Faith.

HeavenBound, your story reminds me of when I was a smoker. I started smoking when I was 15-years-old and by the time I was 23-years-old, I was a 2 1/2 pack a day of the 100s length cigarettes. I was in a severe situation/trial that took my appetite and all I wanted was to smoke cigarettes. It was this situation that caused me to seek a higher power to help me. I did not know what to do and the situation was beyond what humans could do to help me. I did not know God, but started to seek Him.

I had to have a medical physical in order to start vocational school and it was during that physical that I was shocked to find that my weight dropped down to 89 lbs. I was 5 feet 6 inches tall. I was so emaciated that every bone in my body jutted out and my distance perception was out of whack and I ran into doors and furniture with my hips. I hid that little piece of information because I needed to keep my seat in vocational classes.

While I had not yet started to attend any church, I was praying for God to guide me. I was also praying for him to help me quit the cigarettes because I could not walk from one end of the room to the other without being short of breath. I was only 23! The cigarettes were killing me. Like you, I tried to quit cold turkey several times and I did last about 8 hours each time, but by 9 pm I was so in withdrawals that I would drive to the store and buy a pack and smoke 1/2 dozen before I could calm down and go to sleep. I kept on asking God to help me. I would cough and cough and one night I coughed up something white about the size of a marble, spongy looking. I tossed it away.

The next morning, I woke up and felt a sharp pain in the left side of my chest, it spread into the middle and down my left arm. I thought...ok this is it...I am having a heart attack at the age of 23. I had someone take me to the hospital and it turned out to be nearly half of my lung collapsed. They put a tube in my chest to evacuate the air that leaked out around the lung. I was in the hospital for 7 days..until it my lung scarred over and sealed the leak.

When I got out I knew I had lost more weight, but since I had never been more than 8 waking hours without a cigarette before, I took that as my cue to quit. I had not picked up a cigarette since 1979.

While I like your healing better than mine, I am still thankful that I was able to quit. I took it as a blessing in disguise

[ILG]

After I gave my heart to God (what three steppers call repentance), I never even wanted another cigarette. And I had smoked for 6 years (age 13-19). I've never smoked since.