I started dipping 16 years ago. It all started one hot summer football practice. We were taking the players through drills, and things were getting dull. One of the other coaches pulled out a tin and took a pinch. He then looked at me and asked me if I wanted to try it. Suffice it to say, that one moment of stupidity, of weakness, led to a 16 year addiction. It is kind of strange, but I never really thought about cancer. Just about everyone I worked with used tobacco, and they seemed fine. Then a little over a year ago, a guy I used to work with was diagnosed with oral cancer. He had never chewed, smoked, or even drank, and in less than a year after his diagnosis he was dead. One night as I lay in the bed with my 2 year old reading stories, I began to think, "How much longer am I going to keep this up? I am 42 years old." I also began to take notice of my mouth. One evening as I was brushing my teeth, I noticed a little white place on my tongue, and it scared me to death. It did not scare me enough to go the dentist, but it scared me enough to quit. Within about a week, the white patch cleared up, and I breathed easier but not enough to go back to tobacco. A couple of weeks after the spot cleared, I had a terrible pain in my back tooth. Again, I started thinking, "What if I did not quit in time?'" I broke down and went to the dentist, and I wound up having a root canal. I had him check my mouth, and he said other than having to have a root canal that things looked good. That did not sit well with me, so I scheduled an appointment with an oral surgeon. I had been quit about 60 days when I went to see him. He said that he couldn't tell I had even dipped. I thank God for that, and the healing He has provided. Another thing that helped me with my quit is the fact that we are not to be controlled by anything but the Holy Spirit. It helps to keep me on the straight and narrow.
For all of the new people who are reading this, I want to encourage you to stay quit. Take it one day at a time; that approach makes it much more manageable and bearable. Also, go to the dentist. It was not the horrible situation I imagined. Instead, the dentist and the oral surgeon were very supportive and encouraging. Everything I am saying was said to me by the men and women who made it to the hall of fame before. They know what they are talking about, so listen to the old timers, and drink the kool aid. God bless, stay quit, and good night.
