Anyone who has ever tried to quit smoking knows how uncomfortable it is—the withdrawal symptoms are intense and persistent. They make it very hard to quit. But I learned through Christian Science that God’s power is far greater than any addiction, no matter how persistent.
About five or six years ago, when I had just heard about Christian Science, my son came to live with me. He smoked, and we would sit out on the porch together. Before long, I started smoking with him. After a few months, I was up to two packs of cigarettes a day. I wasn’t happy that I had started smoking. I had smoked years before and had quit with great difficulty, so I knew what a struggle I had before me. And it was a struggle.
First, I tried rationing cigarettes. I told myself that I would just smoke one cigarette an hour (that resolution lasted for just the first hour). I tried not smoking in the car, and settled for rolling down the windows instead. I decided to just smoke outside—and would often find myself standing under the eaves in the rain.
