Addiction – Valerie Cullers

Smoking has been off my radar for a long time. Over the past several years in the US, there has been quite a social stigma associated with smoking. No smoking in restaurants, bars, public places, etc., that’s the usual sign up. At this point in time, I don’t know one person who smokes. I know that in other countries, that is not necessarily true.

About a month ago, Omicron blew through our city like a wind on a hot summer day. Thousands were infected including myself and my husband. Actually, six members of my family got it. It wasn’t too severe for our family but hospitalizations are up and lots of people are having a difficult time with it.

I got to thinking, who is being affected the most by it? And of course, it is people with a diminished lung capacity. Smokers are part of this category. I read a study that said that smokers are 80 percent more likely to end up in the hospital with Covid and 60 percent more likely to have negative outcomes. Not good, for sure.

For those of you who read my blog, I would encourage you to quit smoking. Covid is not going away anytime soon, and I don’t want you to end up being a statistic. We all have a tendency to think that negative things won’t happen to us, but I guarantee that it is certainly possible with Covid.

Will it really make any difference if you quit smoking, especially for those who have smoked for years? Orlando Health says that if you quit smoking, your lungs begin to heal immediately. Carbon Monoxide begins to leave your bloodstream gradually. Within the first month of quitting smoking, your lung function will improve and you will have increased circulation. Within a decade of being smoke-free, your risk of bladder, lung, mouth and throat cancer significantly decreases. All this indicates that the longer you go without a cigarette, the better it is for your long term health.

When both my husband and I went to the doctor to get tested, we were asked, “Do you smoke?” When we said, “No,” the doctor didn’t seem too concerned about us. That really alerted me that smoking has a big impact on your outcome should you get Covid. I appreciate every one of you who reads this blog, and I want the very best for you. So please, quit smoking! I want to see you around the blogosphere for a long time!

Image by Ray Kunze. Courtesy of PIxabay

A few weeks ago, I was listening to Shelley Hitz talk about her story of addiction. She titled it, “Broken Crayons Still Color.” I loved that illustration with the hope it brought to my mind. A few days later, one of my friends was telling me about a daughter she lost. As she was telling me about her, a thought came into my mind and wouldn’t leave, “Her daughter was a broken crayon.”

You see, we are all broken crayons, but some of us are broken earlier than others. Her daughter had dealt with many things most of us don’t have to deal with. She dealt with them from the time she was a child. She was a lovely crayon and her colors were truly amazing when she was younger, but there was a time when she was older that the colors began to darken.

As my friend told us, her daughter dealt with drug addiction for many years. Those of us who have dealt with it or had members of our family and friends deal with it know the darkness that can affect their lives and the struggles they deal with. People outside of the circle of close family and friends may still see their bright colors, but those closest have seen and felt the darker hues as they struggle with the ups and downs, the highs and lows.

When we think of our family and friends who have struggled with those things, let us remember the bright colors they brought into our lives, let the darker hues fade and let’s remember them for who they truly were. Those that wanted to make a clean start and begin a new life each day. The people who bravely faced their struggles and who still held onto hope that someday their lives would be different.

Many of them are whole now; they are no longer broken crayons. They are experiencing the beauty and joy of heaven with a God that loved them from the moment they were conceived. A God who was willing to die for them in order to bring them into his Presence when the time came. For this we can be truly thankful.

As we remember them, let us not forget our own brokenness or that of those around us. Let us love each other and share the beauty of our own colors with each and everyone we encounter. Let us keep in mind that many people struggle in silence and only show us their bright colors but they may be experiencing darker hues in their lives. And above all, let us be kind to each other as we never know how fragile the broken crayon next to us is.

Image by Borka Szalbo’. Coutesty of Pixabay.