Life without addictions…It just seems to get harder and harder you know?  I mean, We spend the first part of our lives just growing up.  We’re learning all about the world and everything is new to us.  Naturally we experiment with everything that comes our way, quickly realizing what we do and do not enjoy.  Many of us are allowed to venture a little further out into the unknown where we can sometimes find things that are bad for us.  And sometimes, we like these bad things; we integrate them into our lives and they become addictions.

When you become a Christian you will find that somewhere inside you there is a voice quietly suggesting that you quit doing bad things.  This voice eventually gets louder and louder, sometimes to the point where you can’t hear anything else, so just to make the voice shut up you quit.  Whatever it may be, drinking, smoking, whatever, you quit and naturally find that you feel much better..   But now there is a void.  An emptiness in you where someting once filled your life with excitement is now gone and loneliness settles in.

This can be pretty bad when you have lots of bad addictions.  When you finally give up and choose to start walking the path of righteousness you may begin to wonder why you got involved in this whole being a Christian business anyway.  Being a Christian is HARD…  Living wihtout addictions is HARD.

I’m sure there are some options, I mean you’re not the first person to be going through all this.  Many people suggest filling those empty voids in your life with new, healthy addictions..  but that can be dangerous too as they could eventually become just as bad as the bad ones..  Some say you should spend your time praying, but if you’re like me, praying just doesn’t get it done.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, praying is good and it has it’s benefits, but it doesn’t take the place of sugar and beer for me…  I want to feel good..  I want some self gratification you know?

I guess the key is to make sure you are always filling up your time.  Always moving and doing something.  Always have a goal and something you’re working towards.  Have routines with rules on how you should live your life.  We are defined by what we do, so we should work on visualizing our definitions of ourselves.  What’s important to you?  Health?  Cleanliness?  The Church?  Whatever it is maybe the right way to cope with the miserableness of living without addictions is to fill that empty space with routines and healthy habbits that are specifically designed to help you accomplish a specific goal…

Hmmm, that’s a good idea.  I think I’ll start working on that!