I smoked for many years and tried countless times to quit. While there were days I didn’t smoke at all, I did turn to smoking to relieve stress, as I felt it offered me a measure of peace. Then, after my son with special needs moved out of my home, my smoking dramatically increased.
My daily routine included reading the weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly and praying for myself, my family, and the world. I was also reading the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, from beginning to end.
While reading the last chapter, entitled “Fruitage,” I was encouraged by the numerous accounts of people being healed of smoking. All of these healings were accomplished without a struggle and came about solely through reading Science and Health. As these individuals learned more about God, and about themselves as God’s spiritual and pure image and likeness, they found they were altogether free of the desire to smoke. I longed to feel that freedom.
