Summer reading program ends with a hissby Melanie Lekocevic / August 25, 2022Related Posts
Living on Purpose: How do we respond to temptation?
By Dr. William F. Holland Jr.
For Capital Region Independent Media
The painful truth about any type of addiction and temptation is there was an introduction and a personal agreement to entertain it. They knew it was wrong but made the conscious decision to accept it and a cognitive desire to continue.
I’ve never known anyone who is trying to recover from an addiction to trip and fall face-first into a bag of cocaine and relapse. Do those with a history of substance abuse accidentally run into syringes of heroin or not realize the dangers of taking oxycodone? No. They surrendered their power to resist, bowed down to their new master, and became a slave to the persuasion of darkness.
I’ve never heard of an alcoholic who opened and accidentally consumed hard liquor thinking it was a soft drink. People know exactly what they are consuming. When a person goes into a bar or a liquor store, they are definitely aware of why they are there.
Individuals do not inadvertently become involved with sin; they willingly choose what they want to do. Whatever the situation and no matter how long it’s been going on, the reason people search for relief is to dull the agony of reality. To become numb to the truth, to drown out the voice of conviction and guilt, to avoid, to run away and hide from God.
Some will never face their fears until it is too late and would rather live in emotional and spiritual captivity than allow God to set them free.
The same principle of free will happens when someone becomes extremely obese. Yes, we have compassion just like anyone that is struggling with any type of problem and we cannot imagine the cycle of discouragement they go through every day. We also realize there are individuals who have hormone issues and other health conditions that are not their fault, but there are others that have simply never said no to their cravings.
For whatever reasons, food can become a powerful anesthetic that brings temporary relief by exchanging a sense of euphoria for shackles of bondage. A lack of accountability and self-discipline has serious consequences, to say the least. Again, no one has ever forced another person to overeat, they do it because they want to.
I spoke with a woman the other day and she was telling me about taking care of her four grandchildren. The daughter and her husband became addicted to drugs and they divorced. Not long after this, the daughter brought her children to stay with this woman and her husband, and they have not seen her since. This was four years ago. These grandparents have full custody but are struggling to raise these beautiful kids because they are on a limited income.
Sadly, there are many parents that have abandoned their little ones, and far too often addiction and incarceration are a part of the equation. It’s a heartbreaking scenario and we wonder how anyone could love some type of desire more than their own children or anything else.
It’s actually the same answer that applies to every decision we all make every moment. The free will to choose. When Sinatra sang, “I did it my way,” he was making a rebellious declaration for most of the entire human race. It’s the arrogant and aggressive proclamation about not caring what God says about sin, I live by my own rules.
Most of us know of someone that is entangled in some type of habit, craving, fixation, weakness, compulsion or dependency. These behaviors are the result of how individuals attempt to deal with whatever is seemingly overwhelming them.
We realize we humans are vulnerable to urges, but we always have the choice to resist or accept. It’s not how many times we are tempted, it’s how determined we are to stand against it.
Every idea, thought and suggestion will receive one of two reactions, yes or no. The enemy of our soul has been given the opportunity to persuade us into making destructive decisions, but with God’s strength, we can learn how to control our emotional impulses, which is the way God intended.
If we refuse to develop the perseverance to break free from our destructive cycles, our carnality will control us and cause even more misery and disappointment. Though we can try to help others become victorious, each person must realize that trusting God is the key that can open their own prison doors.
Those who will not help themselves cannot be forced to change.
Learn more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.
O’Connor named to statewide rural ambulance task force
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
DURHAM— Paramedic and former Greene County Legislator Aidan O’Connor has been appointed to a statewide task force aimed at addressing challenges faced by rural ambulance services.
O’Connor will join the 12-member New York State Rural Ambulance Services Task Force formed under a bill advanced by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-46.
The legislation created the task force to study and evaluate the difficulties rural ambulance services are faced with that have led to staffing shortages and in some cases, the closure of rescue squads.
O’Connor, who is the Greene County EMS Leader, will aid the task force in making recommendations to the state Legislature regarding policies, programs, funding and legislation that will shore up rural ambulance services and help ensure their long-term viability.
“Rural EMS services across New York state are in crisis due to decades of systemic underinvestment, which is why I authored the legislation to create the Rural Ambulance Services Task Force so that we could bring together some of our state’s most experienced first responders, like Greene County’s Aidan O’Connor, to help us illuminate the detrimental challenges and solve the root causes before it’s too late,” Hinchey said.
O’Connor has worked in emergency medical services for more than a decade in numerous roles. He has served as EMS coordinator for Greene County, chairman of the Greene County EMS Council, president of Greene County Paramedics and advocacy coordinator for the National Association of EMTs.
He has also been on the board of directors for the Regional Emergency Medical Organization and has been a member of the State Emergency Medical Advisory Committee and co-chairman of the Greene County Ambulance Task Force.
O’Connor also has many years of hands-on clinical experience. He has served as a critical care flight paramedic for LifeNet of New York, where he provided air medical care for patients being transported to hospitals around the state’s rural communities.
He is currently a member of the senior leadership team at Air Methods and a paramedic with Greene County EMS.
“I was incredibly proud to nominate lifetime EMS professional Aidan O’Connor to serve on the Rural Ambulance Services Task Force, and I thank Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins for accepting my recommendation and officially assigning Aidan to this critical task force,” Hinchey said.
O’Connor said it is crucial to support rural ambulance services and the statewide task force will work to identify their needs now and moving into the future.
“I am honored for the opportunity to serve at a time so vital for our EMS providers, EMS organizations, and the patients and communities we serve,” O’Connor said. “It will be imperative that we provide our elected officials with the data and recommendations that will both fix and provide the transformational change we need for our rural EMS system. I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of transport medicine. We know that EMS in New York state can, and will be, a best practice model for the nation.”
