Celebrating 28 Years Of Being Smoke Free 1992-2020

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I've done it again! I just realized that April 12th has come and gone and I missed celebrating the 28th anniversary of God's deliverance from a four-pack-a-day cigarette habit!

I know I've shared this testimony with you before, but it's definitely worth sharing again!

It was April 11, 1992 and, like I said, I was smoking four packs of cigarettes a day. (I had been smoking since I was 15, and was 31 at that point.) I had tried to quit smoking many times, but couldn't. Even though we weren't doing a very good job of it, John and I had committed our lives to the Lord, and were serious about getting our lives, and our household, in line with His Word. (Needless to say, we are still working on it!)

On the evening of April 11, 1992 I was sitting in a chair in our bedroom reading my Bible. I heard a voice, just as clear as day, say, "Throw your cigarettes and lighters away and wait 24 hours."

I immediately gathered up my cigarettes (I had an open pack, an open carton, and an unopened carton) and my lighters and headed for the trashcan in the kitchen. John was in the living-room and, when he saw me, he said, "What are you doing?"

Anyone who knows my husband knows that he HATES cigarettes (always has), and he hated me smoking them, but he was skeptical. He knew how many times I had tried to quit smoking before and how often I had failed. He knew how awful my lungs were. Not only did I smoke like a chimney, but I had chemically burned the lining out of my lungs a few years earlier when I accidentally mixed sulfuric acid and Clorox together in an attempt to unclog a toilet. (I ended up in a hospital emergency room over than one!) After that I could hardly breathe most of the time and couldn't even blow up a balloon for my children to play with!

Anyway, I threw the cigarettes away and I waited. That 24-hour period was one of the longest, most horrific times of my life, and, to be honest, I didn't think I'd make it through it. Yet, somehow, I knew, that if I did, the Lord had something very special waiting for me on the other side. 

Well, sure enough, the next night, on the evening of April 12 1992, I was sitting there reading my Bible. All of a sudden I had the most horrendous pain in my stomach. I looked up at the clock, and it was 11:00 p.m. I jumped up and had to get to the bathroom. I was in there until 4:00 a.m. My stomach hurt so bad! It wrenched in pain and I kept passing this black, tarry-like substance. When it was over, I knew that the Lord  had, literally, cleaned me out!

To this day, I've not been able to stand the thought of smoking another cigarette. I can't even stand the smell of one! It's been 28 years (and 2 days) and I STILL stand in awe of what the Lord did for me that night! It was a miracle! 

And, praise God! He is still in the miracle business today!!! Are you struggling with a cigarette addiction (or some other kind of addiction)? If so, I'd love to pray with you about it! Please, feel free to e-mail me privately at proverbs31heart@yahoo.com (please put PRAYER on the subject line so I don't delete it by mistake) and I will be happy to join you in prayer for deliverance from whatever it is that is holding you in bondage today. Be assured that the Lord is able! I've experienced it first hand! 

Blessed be the name of the Lord! And God bless YOU!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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