Cough, cough, sneeze, blow, sneeze, cough. For four days this past week, that was my reality. All day long. My nose was raw, and everything hurt. There was no fever, but you couldn’t have known that by looking at me.

One time, I happened to look in the mirror and was shocked at how blurry and red my eyes looked. And tired, boy, was I exhausted. I had no energy at all. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I was sick — little-boy-needing-his-mommy kind of sick.

I managed to preach on Sunday before I fell into the poor-pitiful-me rabbit hole. And that’s a good thing, because if Sunday had been Monday, someone at church would have been winging it or digging out a sermon they had tucked away.

Are you feeling sorry for me yet? No? Shame, shame.

Yet, in the best infomercial fashion, but wait! There is even more eyebrow-raising pitifulness to behold.

By Monday afternoon, I was sick of being sick. Of course, you already know I still have days to go. But anyway, I said to myself, “Why don’t you go down to your man cave/shop and see if you can make yourself feel better by piddling around?”

So, I did. While making some cutting boards, I chose to use the table saw. That was a bad mistake. I should have taken an anti-stupid pill and stayed inside the house.

At church, we sometimes sing an old hymn that says there is power in the blood. Of course, that song is about the blood of Jesus shed for humanity. But boy, let me tell you, when a table saw meets a thumb and blood flows, there is enough power to make your heart jump into your throat.

Thankfully, no stitches were required — just plenty of medical-grade super glue, a steroid shot for the crud, and a prescription for an antibiotic. I’ll heal just fine, but I should have begged for a stronger anti-stupid prescription,if such a thing truly existed.

It’s amazing how easily we can make mistakes with painful, frustrating consequences. Unfortunately, sometimes the repercussions exceed what super glue can handle.

And that reminds me of Adam and Eve. It only took believing a lie, a desire for the forbidden and a momentary lapse in judgment for their world to be completely changed. From paradise to hard work. From the Garden of Eden to, ‘What will we feed the kids?’

As I write this on Easter Sunday, I’m thankful for the promise of eternal life through resurrection  power. In the meantime, I cling to the words of Jesus: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) 

Les Ferguson Jr. grew up in Vicksburg and is a 1980 graduate of Warren Central High School. He holds a B.A. in Bible from Magnolia Bible College and an M.A. in New Testament Preaching from Johnson University. He lives and ministers in Oxford, Mississippi and is the author of “Still Wrestling—Faith Renewed through Brokenness.” He can be reached at lfergusonjr@gmail.com.