A Proud Daughter
I usually use this blog to brag on my kids (or tell on them?), but today I want to brag on my mom.
Before last year, my mom had always smoked. Both my parents did. I remember being shown a smoker’s lung in school and trying to convince them to quit smoking to no avail. Once my mom and dad decided to quit when I was about ten. They gave me all the cigarettes they had and asked me to hide them and not tell them where they were no matter what. Well, it wasn’t long before they were threatening to kill me if I didn’t tell them where they were and I coughed them up. I wouldn’t make a very good Jack Bauer. lol
My dad finally quit cold turkey late in life, but it was too late for him. He developed COPD a couple years later and spent his last years on oxygen. It was heartbreaking for me. I wanted my mom to quit sooner than my dad had, but she wasn’t very open to the idea. I understood because my mom has seizures and MS and both these serious physical problems get much worse when she is off nicotine.
A year ago I prayed a prayer I didn’t believe God would answer. I said, “Lord, please help my mom and her husband quit smoking.” I literally thought, “That’ll never happen” as I prayed it. I was so surprised when two weeks later my mom told me she was going to quit. I was stunned when two weeks after that her husband quit. What was even more amazing is that they both have been smoke-free for a year. Only 7% of people who use nicotene patches like my mom did are smoke-free six months later. My mom endured terrible neurological symptoms in the process of quitting, yet persevered.
I am so thankful that God answered my unbelieving prayer and that the kids and I may have my mom and her husband around a lot longer as a result! If you have a moment, visit my mom’s blog and congratulate her. I know it would mean a lot to her.
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