Think back on your life and consider for a moment what habits or activities you pursued as a young person that you have changed. Go through the various stages of change and think upon what happened each step of the way.
I stopped smoking almost 40 years ago. I can remember it well. My daughter, Julie, was born on April 28 1967 and I was ecstatic about having this beautiful little child in my family. I wanted to do everything I could to live in a healthy way. But, I had some bad habits that concerned me and really concerned my wife, Karen. She begged me to stop smoking but I demurred.
I was a grown man and I knew perfectly well how to take care of myself. I certainly did not need a women to tell me what to do, even if it was for my own good. I yearned for freedom if it killed me! I hated for my wife to lecture me about my health and every time I coughed up a lung I resented it even more. In my opinion, I did not have a problem!
Then Julie was born. This was a little girl that quickly got under my skin. I had tried to quit smoking numerous times but I relapsed at least one more time than I quit. One night I was watching TV and a man came on who talked about the dangers of smoking. I hated those interviews. I knew what they would say because I had been a basketball player and a coach and we were never allowed to smoke because of the way it destroyed our ability to breathe.
But what should I do? I was convicted about my bad habit and I knew I needed to quit. So, said to myself, "I will quit when I am older."
In a millisecond, the Lord spoke to me and said, "You are not going to 'Get old" you are getting older every minute that passes." I threw my pack of Herbert Taretons away at that moment and have not lit one since.
Can we change bad habits?
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