The New Year started rather nicely for us. After all the exciting holiday activities, it was nice to settle into a more relaxed frame of mind. We had a whole week before us with nothing really to do and no place to go. What could be better?

I like it when there's not much to do, but The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage has a very opposite view. If she's not doing something in her craft room, she can't handle it.

However, some things have a way of changing.

Halfway through the first week of the New Year, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came down with flu-like symptoms. She was coughing, sneezing, and all that's associated with the Flu.

She was sitting on the couch with her eyes closed, and as lunchtime approached, I said, "Would you like me to make lunch today?"

She always makes lunch, and I thought this was an opportunity to help her out with the lunch plan.

She opened her eyes, looked at me very strangely, and then said, "Heavens no. I'm sick enough as it is, I don't need any more." She then got up, went to the kitchen, and began making lunch. At least I tried to help.

By the time she finished lunch, I started coughing and sneezing. My nose was running so much that I couldn't handle it. It was then that it occurred to me that whatever she had, she gave to me.

It wasn't long before both of us were sick, and I couldn't help but laugh at how our 'Flu' had turned us into a couple of couch potatoes. We were coughing, sneezing, and feeling miserable, but somehow, it made our start of the New Year memorable in a funny way.

I often wonder why they call it "Flu" when it never flies away. I want to say, "Whatever I had, it Flu away. But this Flu has a very exaggerated fascination with me. And of course, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.

This went on for at least a week. For six days, I never got out of my pajamas. It was like I never got out of bed in the morning. I didn't have the energy to put on my work clothes, so I just stayed in my pajamas.

The only work I was doing was walking into the living room, taking a cup of coffee, and sitting down in my easy chair. It took a lot of work to get here.

Not only did I not change out of my pajamas, but The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage did the same. One thing was quite strange: she never left the house to go shopping. That was the real clue that she was sick.

We couldn't handle much activity, but then The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage invented some game for us to play. She called it the “Cough and Sneeze Challenge.” I never heard of that before, but I was in for it. I had nothing else to do, and there was no way I could stop from coughing or sneezing.

It was rather strange that I sneezed three times. I couldn't sneeze just once or even twice, but three times.

At the beginning, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was far ahead of me in her coughing and sneezing. After all, she got this flulike thing way before I did. But it did not take long for me to catch up with her.

We were sitting together in the living room, coughing and sneezing in turn. I would let her go first, and then I would follow not long after. I tried to be a gentleman about it, but pretty soon I was no longer in control of my coughing and sneezing.

She had a couple of hours ahead of me, but it wasn't long before I caught up.

After my last coughing and sneezing fit, I looked at The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and said, "When will this game be over?"

She coughed and sneezed and then cleared her throat and said, "It will be over when one of us wins the contest."

I really didn't know what she was talking about or how to respond. It went on for five days, and each day seemed worse than the one before. We got up in the morning coughing and sneezing, and it continued throughout the day, and then we went to bed coughing and sneezing.

"I have an idea," I said to her, "if I surrender and let you win can we then call it quits?"

As soon as I said that, I went into the worst coughing and sneezing fit I had all week.

Laughing between coughing and sneezing fits, she said, "Are you really willing to lose this game?"

She knows that I don't like losing. But I've had a history of losing, and this would be a great time to keep losing. I wouldn't mind losing to this if we get it over with.

For the next half hour, we coughed and sneezed together as partners. Sometimes quitting is not an option.

In the middle of a sneeze, a Bible verse came to mind. “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing,” (James 1:3-4).

Patience has a way of getting through difficult times.

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 [email protected]. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.