Smoker Anonymous - NOT!

   
Hello, I am 30 years old. I have 2 children, a son of 11 and a daughter who is 5. I was a smoker for half my life. I now haven't had a smoke for nearly 12months. God allowed 3 things to happen to me, so I would walk with Him and lean not on my own understanding. I hadn't walked the straight line with Him, and my body is not healthy because smoking robs our bones of calcium and they do not get proper nourishment. This past 12 months of being free from smoking has changed me and my life. I can only thank Him for loving me so much.

Fasting - I began to fast and pray. I believe that God does speak to us and our Spirits hear Him more on an empty stomach. I had been taught that God reveals to you what He, or you, would not like about yourself. Though this has been challenging, my Spirit lead me to Fast. So this was the beginning of my Journey. My Mum smoked while she carried me in her womb. My parents both smoked, and it was always normal to me. Being the youngest of 4 kids I watched all my siblings start smoking when they hit teenage years, and I followed suit.

I also had 2 kids and smoked whilst I was pregnant. My children have seen me smoke all of their lives. During this time I have always loved God. I was born into a Christian home, christened, raised to worship and barely missed a church service while I was living with my parents. We were made to go to church, and also allowed to smoke. My husband is an Alcoholic, and for 6 years I have prayed for him, along with a bunch of friends. If anything, he has got worse. Unfortunately, last year, in desperation, I began to nag - I was like a dripping tap. I begged him to get help. Just as the Bible describes what you don't want to live with. I think he would have been happier living on the corner of the roof!

He told me to look at the plank in my own eye, instead of trying to take the speck out of his eye. I took this to the Lord. It was true. How could I complain or even ask him to get help, when I was as addicted as him. Last year my niece was having troubles with her mum, so she came to stay with us for a week. My son thought she was so cool. They went to friends up the street that I know very well, just to muck around. Little did I know that she would offer him a drag of a cigarette. (I didn't even know she smoked). I also didn't know or even think, he would accept. Why not though? He had watched me do this all his life. One week later he couldn't sleep, he was guilt ridden.

I have an Honesty Policy with my kids 'Tell the truth and there is no punishment, so he told me. He of course took the smoke, and dragged on it. History repeating itself , for generations and generations. He then gave me an ultimatum: 'Mum stop smoking in one month, or I will start'. I felt so guilty - how could I with confidence stop him from smoking? I felt like a hypocrite. This really had the potential to damage our relationship big time. 3 months and I was officially a Non-Smoker with God's help. Without God I could not have done it. He gave me a strategy which I'll tell you about in a minute. The third thing God used was my Youth Pastor . He had been put in charge of Kids Church. He needed a few people to teach the kids. God had already laid this on my heart, but a phone call confirmed it. He never asked me to quit, he never said a word. What sort of a leader was I going to be having a smoke before and after the lesson? I thought of my Sunday school teacher who has since married my uncle .She is such a lovely lady… I could never match up to her! What sort of a role model would I be for God's kids?

The enemy got in my head. I had just spent the last six years of my life justifying mine and everybody else's' bad habit of smoking. Time I faced the truth. I can't tell you enough how pleased I was when I heard our Senior Pastor quote "Smoking wont send you to hell, you'll just smell like you've been there'… our previous Pastor would say the same thing. That was more fuel for my fire. I know, the moment I was conceived in my mother's womb God had all this planned out. My body has been living by the flesh since I don't know when - since I was born. The Holy Spirit had shown me the time was now! I wasn't going to push this challenge away from me one more time. These 2 children of mine, I am training for God, they are His, not mine - they are only leant to me for a time. God specifically gave me 2 Tim.1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity of cowardice of craven and cringing and fawning fear) but He has given us a spirit of power, and of love and of calm and well balanced mind and disciple, and self control.

This scripture to me says more than a thousand words. Self control (under His control) is one of the fruits of the spirit and this one I didn't have, but the Lord gave it to me through earnestly seeking Him. He told me to take one day at a time and leave one smoke behind. I did this exactly till after 30 days I was not a smoker. Not a long time ago, I was awakened by Satan and had an awful desire to have a smoke - I acknowledged and rebuked the thought, asked Jesus to send me back to sleep and woke in the morning knowing God answers the smallest prayers with all His LOVE. Being honest and facing up to the truth of things both God and I didn't like about myself has set me free - and who the Sons sets free is free indeed !!! He is awesome!!!

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