For the last few years, I have been on a rather strict diet, according to The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. I have some health issues, and I'm not allowed to eat anything with sugar in it. It seems everything has sugar in it.

Believe me, she's been very vigilant in supervising my daily menu. She also supervises all the medicine I have to take every day. It seems I have become a drug addict. The doctor prescribed the medicine I am to take every day. I have been very faithful in keeping to her strict diet.

Every once in a while, maybe once or twice a month, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage will give me a sugar-free cookie. She says it's because I've been good in my diet.

Occasionally, I remember the good old days when I ate as many cookies as I could every day. And believe me, they weren't sugar-free cookies at that time. I should congratulate the people who developed sugar-free cookies because now I can have one occasionally.

According to her, I can't even think of an Apple Fritter; they are pure poison for me. I'm really not sure I believe that. But then, I'm not really in control of my menu.

It took me quite a while to realize that The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage had hidden away a bunch of sugar-free cookie boxes. I never even thought about it until recently. Occasionally, she gives me a sugar-free cookie and tells me I've been faithful to my diet, so it's okay for this one.

If she can bring me one sugar-free cookie, it must mean that there is a store of cookies somewhere in the house. If anybody can hide anything without me finding it, it is You-Know-Who.

So, the question is, where is she hiding this store of sugar-free cookies? It's got to be somewhere in the house, and for me to find my way to my office and then to the bathroom is quite a chore. But it began to work on me until I had to find out where that stash was.

Every year for a week The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and several of her daughters go to St. Augustine and hop around at all of the thrift stores in the neighborhood. They have been doing this for several years.

I had a thought in my mind. While she is on this trip, I will spend time looking through the house to find that hidden stash of sugar-free cookies.

The first thing I asked myself was, "Where would I hide those cookies?" Then I struck all those places off my list.

The next thing I asked myself was, "Where would she hide those cookies?" That was my list for the week. I searched the whole house, looking in places she might hide them.

I started in her craft room. It took me at least one day to go through her craft room, looking at every place where a bunch of cookies could be hidden. Finally, I exhausted my search and found absolutely nothing resembling a sugar-free cookie.

I then searched the rest of the house carefully, looking in every possible place. I must say I'm not very good at activities like this. However, I put a spirit of diligence into my efforts to uncover it.

The day before they were to return from St. Augustine, I finally hit the jackpot.

Behind the washer and dryer, shelves were filled with the stuff she needed to do the laundry. I almost didn't look there, but I had no other place to go, and this was my last place. I looked very closely at every aspect of that little room, and then I hit the jackpot. In the corner, I discovered six boxes of sugar-free cookies, very well hidden from sight.

I couldn't believe my fortune. I took the opportunity to open one of those boxes, took out two cookies, put the box back, and went to my lazy chair to enjoy them. After all, one cookie in my hand is worth two in the cupboard.

A week later, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came into my office, stood at the door, and just stared at me for a few moments. I had no idea what she was up to because I was deep in my work for the day. Then she said, "You did not find the boxes of sugar-free cookies, did you?"

To lie to The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is as close to the death penalty as anybody could get. I looked at her for a few moments and then said, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," she said rather strongly.

At this point I realized I was caught red-handed. I had to confess and promise never to do it again.

Several days later, when she was out shopping, I went to the closet looking for those cookies and, to my surprise, they were all gone. I don't know if I'll ever find them again, but I won't give up looking.

I recalled a verse in Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

God has some wonderful treasures for me, and His great delight is in revealing them to me as I need them.

Dr. James L. Snyder, is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. James is an award winning author whose books are available at https://amzn.to/2SMOjwO.

Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.