I am not superstitious [knock on wood] but some things happen to me that leave me a little bit suspicious. I am not sure if there is a connection between superstitious and suspicious, but if there were, that would explain a lot in my life.

I start every year with high hopes of making certain changes in my life. If I had a quarter for every change I wanted to make in my life but didn’t, I would have all the change I need.

This past week was one of those weeks. I was minding my own business, which for me is a full-time job without benefits, and no matter what I did; I was either a day late or a dollar short.

I had to go across town for a business meeting and as my luck would have it, I hit every red light. I am not sure but it seemed that there were 1,937 traffic lights in route to my destination.

I had a gift card that I cannot remember when I got it, but I thought I would get a nice gift for myself. I selected my gift, went to the cash out counter and was informed that my gift card had expired “yesterday.” I think I have just too many yesterdays in my life. I would like a card once that would expire “tomorrow”. I have plenty of them.

The bookstore that I do my business was having a special on a book that I really wanted. I got to the store, stood in line for well over an hour and, as my luck would have it, the person in front of me got the last one. Where’s my gun when I need it?

I believe if there are 100 people playing a $10 million lottery I would be number 101. I come so close so many times, but you know what they say, an inch missed is like a mile missed.

When my wife and I started our marital journey, we did not take a vow of poverty. It just has turned out that way. As soon as we have a little cash ahead, my wife begins to wonder what is going to break in the house. And, as luck would have it, she is usually right.

All week long, my week went like this. All week long, I could not catch anything and then, as my luck would have it, I caught a cold. I did not set out at the beginning of the week to catch a cold. Whoever threw that cold at me I would like to find out right now. Of course, why I caught it in the first place is to be questioned. I really did not see it coming.

Why is it you cannot catch what you want but usually can catch what you do not want?

A friend of mine always reminds me along this line that, “That’s life.”

I caught a cold and now I did not know what to do with it.

I got up late in the morning, put on my bathrobe and went toward the kitchen wheezing and coughing as I shuffled down the hallway. When I got to the kitchen the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage looked at me with one of “those looks” and said rather sternly, “Don’t you dare give that cold to me.”

I was sick but I was not too sick to know a death threat when it came my way.

When it comes right down to it, I am really a generous person. I would give you the shirt off my back if you needed it. However, when I have something like “a cold,” I cannot give it to anyone. Nobody wants it! Believe me, the cold I have to give I would give freely.

“You turn around,” my wife said very sternly, “and march yourself right back into bed.” Not only did I catch a cold, but also I am now catching the dickens.

I must confess that I am an expert at catching the dickens, I have just never figured out what to do with it when I got it. If I was good at catching luck as I am with catching the dickens I would be the luckiest man in the world. If someone knows a profitable market for “dickens” please contact me soon.

Slowly I turned, step by step, I walked down the hallway, it seemed like of thousand miles, I finally threw myself into bed. Thankfully, the bed caught me.

And so, as luck would have it, I have caught the cold, caught the dickens from my wife, and now I plan to catch up on some sleep.

I am not sure if you starve a cold and feed a fever or if you feed a cold and starve a fever. So in my confusion, I fed myself.

Resting on my bed, I thought of one of my favorite Bible verses. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 KJV).

Life is full of ups and downs. Just when you think you are up you find yourself on the way down. The important thing in life is to have a safety net. For me, Jesus is my safety net and has never let me down. He will always catch me.