Addictions come in many shapes and sizes

This past weekend I came to the sad realization: I am an addict…and I blame it on Steve Szuberski!

I just returned from Peace’s annual Ice Fishing weekend.  We had a weekend abounding in fish…good beverages…wind…more wind…and even more wind.  On Saturday we had a hard time keeping one of the ice houses in place – it kept wanting to blow across the ice!  We cleaned (and ate) piles of perch and sunnies.  We even hauled in about a 17 inch bass (caught on a piece of chicken wing…go figure).

As the crew arrived at the cabin and started unloading, I knew I was in for a rough time.  First came the chips and salsa.  Then came the cookies.  Then the jalapeno cheese curls.  At last Steve walked in with the final straw: trail mix.  My mouth watered as he mixed together the peanuts, raisins, and M&M’s. 

Over the Christmas season I knew that I ate way too much.  I started to become what my friend Kevin Woestehoff calls a ‘fat skinny man,’ a thin guy with a gut.  I entered the new year vowing to cut back and take care of myself.  As I saw the delicious piles of snacks on the counter at the cabin, I feared that the vow would get set aside for a while.  It did.

Every time I walked past an open bag I’d stick in my hand.  At first I ate because I was hungry.  Later I ate because it tasted wonderful.  Finally I ate…because it was there.   Trail mix provides the perfect combination of sweet and salt.  I can only eat so many sweet things before it gets to be too much.  I can only handle so much salt at one sitting.  But…put the two together and the munching becomes endless. 

The first night I lay in bed, feeling like a bowling ball had been plopped on top of me.  My stomach ached.  The mountains of salt dehydrated me.  I felt gross.

I’m a smart guy…I should have learned from that experience.  I didn’t.  Sadly, the next day was worse.  I told myself to stop munching, but I repeatedly found myself at the counter full of snacks, grabbing ‘just one more.’  I couldn’t control my actions.  That sounds like addiction to me.  

I returned home with a small jar of trail mix. I told Shannon, “I don’t want to eat any more – it’s yours.”  A couple hours I found the jar in my hand.  What could be wrong with one more little bit?  Shannon held me to my word and took it away.  The next morning I thought a quick bite would be great before heading to work.  Again, Shannon reminded me, “You said you were done eating this!”  

I didn’t quit until I had someone to help me quit.  I couldn’t do it alone.  That’s why God gave me such a loving wife!

Addictions come in many shapes and sizes.  Alcohol … pornography … food … TV … Facebook… e-mail…texting… the list can go on and on.  We all have things we can’t control.  They overwhelm our willpower and cause us to do the very things we want to avoid.     

Addictions without accountability can crush us.  We need not suffer alone!  Who has God put into your life to help you control the addictions that threaten to overwhelm you?