This is such a special time of year! I love all the festivities, community involvement, church programs, caroling, decorations, and yes, even the gift giving and feasting! It's a lot of fun. People seem a little more cheerful this time of year. We are a little more likely to smile at someone or do something generous.
I love our community here in Blairsville, GA and Murphy, NC! People have a great spirit, and from those I've come in contact with, it seems that most love Jesus here in the mountains. We have learned that the great outdoors, fresh air, and the beautiful mountains are something to not take for granted. They are gifts from the Lord.
However, this time of year can be very sad for some, and another reason to disappoint the ones they love the most. It may be due to not being able to afford presents, having to live on a very tight budget, health concerns, addictions, or depression, perhaps from losing loved ones to death or illness.
We at Healthy Minds for Better Lives, Inc. have a passion for preventing addictions that impair the mind. Alcohol as a beverage and illicit drugs, as well as fantasy games, pornography, gambling, etc., destroy lives and families. We have pondered on a few questions this year, and perhaps you can mull them around in your mind as well, and help us come up with some great community, family and personal solutions.
1. What makes someone go back to a habit that they know harms them and the ones they love?
2. Why do so many released from jail go back into a life of crime and end up back in prison?
3. What solutions are there for those who drink due to loneliness and depression?
4. How can someone have the fortitude to resist temptation and make healthy choices, even during peer pressure?
I'd like to answer these to the best of my knowledge so far.
1. Alcohol and drugs and addictive habits have a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual pull that is hard to resist. I believe that the Holy Spirit can help people through this, as well as doctors, family, loved ones, support systems, but it will ALWAYS be there, and will require a daily dying to self, a transformation, not a reformation, of the soul. This can only be done with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, humbling one self and repenting of sin, and asking Jesus to save him/her. Each day will require saying the Lord's Prayer and putting on the spiritual armor, knowing that a doorway has been created for Satan by participating in these things, and while the doorway can be shut, it can also open again. An open doorway gives Satan legal ground into your life, to destroy you and those you love. That's why you have to be vigilant and sober (1 Peter 5:8). You can't sleep on the job. None of us can! We have to live life intentionally, purposeful, not laying down our guard for a minute.
2. People go back to what they know, what makes them comfortable, or what they think they need to do to survive. Many have good intentions, but get in the wrong crowds, listening to their peers. Some may lack true skills, and turn to what they were "good" at. They know drugs and alcohol will make their pain and malaise better, for at least a little while, and help them to just live life normally. Unfortunately, these substances impair the mind of good judgement and inhibitions, making them more likely to do something they know they shouldn't. They become more and more dependent on it, and it destroys the architecture of sleep, making them more irritable, and hurting their liver. It damages the brain. Of course Satan would use these substances to control someone, and to ultimately destroy someone!
3. I think the idea of bars is a great one! There are many who do not have a family around, including a church family (which I highly recommend!), or they don't have family they like, and look to go somewhere to hang out. They can't very well continually bother their friend or neighbor, as they will wear out their welcome, especially if their friend has a family. So they either go to a bar, where people voluntarily come and expect to hang out with others, or they drink their sorrows away alone at home. They don't feel like getting involved in a sport or family-oriented community event. They just want someone cool they can trust to talk to, without it being a formal counseling session, something that may or may not be expensive. They want to watch the game with some guys, or play trivia, but be able to leave whenever they want. They want to horse around with other people, just for fun, and forget about their troubles for a while, or they may want to sit alone somewhere that is not home with all the troubles. A bar offers this. Think of the days when guys hunted together, and women quilted together on the front porch. We were made for true friendship, not gossip parties, but loving people who will be a true friend and make memories with.
I wish people would stop serving alcohol, but have bars that sell nonalcoholic beverages! Alcohol is a temporary fix that takes something from you, more than it gives (kind of like a loan shark). Drugs do the same, and may seem to offer a good feeling for a while, and may help you connect with others who are doing the same, giving you that feeling of belonging, but these are not the right kind of friends, who will give or sell you something so harmful to you and your family. I'm not just talking physically, but spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and psychologically as well.
4. Some people think that those who get drunk ruin it for those who feel they can just tamper with drinking for social relaxation and fun. No one, as far as I know, intentionally tries to become a drunk. Most people are comfortable "playing with fire" and feel they are in control. They can drink a few drinks, and then leave it alone for long periods of time. The truth is, it may take 2 years or 20 years, but it will addict you. It's like playing with a viper. You may seem to be doing all right, but it will bite you eventually in some way. And if you are fortunate enough to keep it under control, those in your family may look to you as an example, and drink themselves, and may not have the same outcome as you did. In one night someone can do something they will regret forever, and may not even remember doing it while under the influence.
People have to get to the point that they are going to choose wisely, regardless of what others think or in spite of pressures to conform, and be their own selves, realizing the value and worth they have in God's sight. This is true worth that no one can take away. One almost has to get the attitude, "Hey, do what you want, but I'm not touching the stuff! Talk to the hand! I can find pleasure in sipping coffee or hot chocolate, or drinking a smoothie. I know my worth in Christ, Whose I am, and this is not for me. I have my eye on my future, even the next 5 yrs., and alcohol is not in that picture. I intend to bring my troubles to Someone who can actually do something about it - God - and pour my heart out to Him daily. I will put on my armor daily to fight the temptation and spiritual battles, and because I am not alone, the victory is mine and I claim it!" Or something like that - you get what I mean!
How did I do? I'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts as well. Let's get the discussion started!
Last thing: we have a tree in the Tour of Trees in Blairsville. Please come check it out! Here are some pictures, and the ornaments I made to help with our mission of educating and bringing awareness about avoiding substances and habits that impair the mind. God bless you and Merry Christmas!
