The things that happen when you love real people. Well my Valentine gift from tourist was that he quit smoking and with a little blip he quit again on February 17th.
I have suspected for some time but as of late the smell of smoke has been very strong and then you say to yourself do I confront him or let it lay? Well yesterday as I gave him a kiss in passing I said you are smoking again aren't you? At first he denied it saying no, but I said I can smell it on your breath. How can I say something to him like that? Total denial and I let it go.
Later I found him resting and we talked about it and my man I love admitted to me that yes, he had started smoking again that he felt terrible about it and didn't want to lie to me about it that he is addicted to it. I asked how long and he said the electrical fire did it he couldn't handle it and started then. I asked how long had he gone without smoking and he said three months....and had been smoking the last four months.
I am not going to yell about it why? Because I have my own destructive sin that I deal with gluttony... tourist's is cigarettes. Both of us have an addictive issue with a substance that if ingested or eaten too much of is killing or harming our body temples. We are sinners and need to lean on God to overcome these addictions. I have my demons to deal with as tourist has his. We both need love, grace, and mercy and God's strength if either one of us will conquer these addictions. The struggle is real and the battles are daily, moment by moment...
The journey begins with the first step and I confess we both need to take that first step if we will ever win these battles that we both with God's help need to fight. Now the real question for both of us do we want to give up the idol of food or cigarettes? Because harming our bodies with these idols we are both putting them before God.... What or who do we love most? Only time will tell.