What Im about to tell you is one of many reasons that Lori is my hero. Some of you dont know this, but she was a heavy smoker for years and years. She had tried quitting many times, many different ways but it had never worked. Ten years ago, she had gotten to the point where she couldnt sing, she couldnt laugh, sometimes she couldnt even talk without having a coughing fit. I dont mean a little dry smokers cough, I mean a coughing fit. I knew that I was about to lose the most important person in my life, smoking was going to kill her and it wasnt going to be years from then, it was going to be soon. She decided she was going to try to quit again. She had tried many times before and tried many different ways but it had never worked. This time she decided she was going to try the little inhaler things that you put little cylinders in. They allow you to continue to get some Nicotine but the idea is that its easier to wean yourself away from it a little at a time. She picked a day and here is where the difference begins. Neither of us talked to each other about this but we both started to pray....a lot. Not just a prayer here and there when we thought about it but many prayers, over and over. I didnt share this with her and she didnt share this with me. So, without knowing it, between the two of us, we had a pretty steady stream of prayers headed up to God. Lori set the day, and the prayers continued. Neither one of us are always real good at reading directions and that proved true when it came to those little inhalers. I dont remember the specifics but what happened was, Lori didnt change the little inserts like she was supposed to, so in reality, she got very little nicotine and very little help from them. This should have doomed her attempt to quit but it didnt. She made it through the day. That evening she went through a little rough patch but she and I walked up and down our road for awhile and it passed. I wont get into all the details but the day turned into days, turned into weeks, turned into years and today it turned into a decade. It had been ten years today since God answered the prayers of a smoker who wanted desperately to quit and the person that loved her more than anybody and knew that the love of his life was running out of time. The interesting thing is, Lori is not an ex-smoker. Ex-smokers still get an urge to have a cigarette every once in awhile. Lori is a non-smoker. God took her addiction away. Completely. Now, our beliefs tell us that God gave us freewill. Sometimes when we look around at choices weve made or the shape the world is in, we might wonder whether that was a good idea. My point is that Lori has freewill and she could have shook off Gods gift for her from the very beginning or many times since but she didnt. So first I want to praise God for the gift, a blessing that has touched so many lives because those that know Lori, they know that she touches lives. But I also want to tell Lori that I am so proud that she recognized the blessing and didnt shake it off or throw it away. So anytime you wonder whether God answers prayers, come talk to me or Lori and well remind you of this story. God does answer prayers, even if they are whispered prayers. And now those who know me understand why Whispered Prayers is one of my favorite songs. Especially when I hear it being sung by someone who I never thought I would hear sing again. I try really hard to make Lori laugh at least once a day, because the sound of her laughter is a huge blessing to me. So, when you hear Lori sing in the choir or hear her laughter, do me a favor, join with me and send up praises to God. All glory to God! God is GOOD! If you see Lori today, make sure you wish her a Happy Anniversary, and make her laugh......
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 12:11:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015