My entire life, I have had no desire to smoke. My maternal grandfather died six years before I was born from the one-two punch of emphysema and lung cancer caused by years of smoking. From what I have heard about him, he and I would have gotten along very well because I am so much like him. With each thing I learn about him, I become even more resolved to never let the butt of a cigarette touch my lips. However, there was one day I desperately craved a cigarette.
It had been a stressful day at work, as many of them are. The field of special education is not for the faint of heart. As I began my drive home, I craved something to release the tension flowing through me, and a cigarette seemed like a viable option. After all, many people turn to them for the same reason. My promise to myself to never smoke was the only thing holding me back.
Now, I easily could have just given in, but that option seemed almost too easy. Instead, I prayed and asked God why I was feeling that pull toward smoking. As I prayed, he opened my eyes to the element of smoking that was driving my unexplained craving: breathing in and out through a narrow tube. He also opened my eyes to other ways to achieve the same stress-relieving goal, one of which was getting myself a kazoo.
Over the next few days, I searched for a kazoo at a few different stores with no luck. What I did find was a 20-pack of metallic fringed noisemakers for a dollar, so I bought them. I put one in my car, one on a table in my house, and took the rest to work with me. I thought I might give some to my coworkers if they wanted them, but no one did, so I brought them back home. In time, I took the noisemaker off the table at home and stuck it back in the bag as well.
The one in my car is still there, and over time, I have gotten really good at blowing through it without making any noise. I don't use it very often, and I get some strange looks from other drivers when I do, but it is nice to have it there for the days I need it. It reminds me to breathe, and when I do, I can feel my stress melting away. Each time I use it, I am thankful that God showed me a way to deal with my stress that is healthy and non-addictive.
It had been a stressful day at work, as many of them are. The field of special education is not for the faint of heart. As I began my drive home, I craved something to release the tension flowing through me, and a cigarette seemed like a viable option. After all, many people turn to them for the same reason. My promise to myself to never smoke was the only thing holding me back.
Now, I easily could have just given in, but that option seemed almost too easy. Instead, I prayed and asked God why I was feeling that pull toward smoking. As I prayed, he opened my eyes to the element of smoking that was driving my unexplained craving: breathing in and out through a narrow tube. He also opened my eyes to other ways to achieve the same stress-relieving goal, one of which was getting myself a kazoo.
Over the next few days, I searched for a kazoo at a few different stores with no luck. What I did find was a 20-pack of metallic fringed noisemakers for a dollar, so I bought them. I put one in my car, one on a table in my house, and took the rest to work with me. I thought I might give some to my coworkers if they wanted them, but no one did, so I brought them back home. In time, I took the noisemaker off the table at home and stuck it back in the bag as well.
The one in my car is still there, and over time, I have gotten really good at blowing through it without making any noise. I don't use it very often, and I get some strange looks from other drivers when I do, but it is nice to have it there for the days I need it. It reminds me to breathe, and when I do, I can feel my stress melting away. Each time I use it, I am thankful that God showed me a way to deal with my stress that is healthy and non-addictive.
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