Night before last I dreamed I ate donuts. The emphasis is on the plural. I don’t have a sweet tooth. I’ll eat dessert if I’m out somewhere once in a great while. I like an occasional piece of dark chocolate candy or a bite-sized Baby Ruth and sometimes ice cream in the summer. But sweets don’t tempt me that much, except for still warm glazed donuts. The ones from Golden Donuts in Columbus are the best. Once when I was pregnant, my husband and I bought a dozen fresh from the oven. We went for a drive and consumed the entire box. Maybe remembering those donuts at that special time of life is what keeps me so fond of them. Things from the past trigger present responses. We develop habits that return even when we aren’t expecting them to. That’s known as retroactive inhibition. If you trade a car with the gear shift on the console to one with the gear shift on the steering column, you will probably unconsciously continue to reach for the console to put your car in park. It takes about 30 days to ingrain a new habit. Sometimes it takes much longer. God can help us replace our harmful habits with healthy ones if we make a conscious effort to help ourselves and seek God’s help, too. I just read an article by a man who smoked 2 to 3 packs a day who prayed for help in kicking his habit. He wrote that he fell unconscious during his prayer and after he came to never craved another cigarette. I wish it were that easy for everyone, still all things are possible. “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” – Luke 18:27 We can be successful if we identify we have a problem habit, become determined to overcome it, and partner with God for a solution.
We do so much, Lord out of habit. Some are good habits, some are harmful. Help us to realize the difference between the two and to put harmful things behind. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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