we have some very dear friends that we've know for around 25yrs.- we met them when they
called us to trim their horses - they both smoked way back then and I guess that he was in
his early forties, but, they were and are very special to both of us, hub and me - anyway we
kind of went our own separate ways as he got a job driving over-the-road, and we all know how
things and relationships just continually change over the years, but of course not our feeling for
how much we love them...anyway, he stopped-by the other day after not seeing him for quite some
time on any kind of regular basis, and besides gaining a lot of very un-healthy weight, we couldn't help
but notice that his 'smoking-habit' had taken a drastic turn, he could barely take-in a drag and when
he did, he had a cough that would tear your heart to pieces...he is now in his early sixties, and we know
that he will soon die, just by what we observed that day - the sadness and pain we feel for him and his is quite
over-whelming, especially since the family were so into out-door life, 'riding and fishing, gardening',
basically they just loved and enjoyed the out-doors and natural living in so many ways...the wife is in
just as bad a condition as he is and their daughter is well on her way as she manifests their same
toxic behavior...and then there are her children, who are constantly exposed to the same things...
hub and I are both heavy, EX-Smokers and we do know that it is just a choice - we both quit in our twenties,
me, (2)packs a day and hub (3), and sometimes when we drank, one after another after another and even
if I woke-up in the night and couldn't sleep, I'd light up...we know what an 'all-consuming' HABIT it is...
The Holy Spirit has since revealed why we were so dependent upon them...
we didn't know each other then, and were both 'carnal'!
the 'last-fruit' of The Spirit is TEMPORANCE, and we believe the reason that this is, is because
it is the 'easiest-to-master', if it is a priority and desire...
sorry for being so 'long-winded'
, but we feel such sadness and heartache, for the near future of
our dear friends is written on the wall, and the last thing we want to witness is the terrible suffering
that they will have to endure...