27 Feb 2026
For over 70 years, I believed sanity was a very important part of a person's identity. Being sane enables one to be successful in life. Who doesn't want to be successful?
I've made it my business to focus on my sanity and make sure it's working just fine. Of course, I’m not sure how to build my sanity.
Actually, it wasn't until I met and married The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage that I understood what sanity was all about. All my sanity brought me to that wonderful place in my life. If anybody has more sanity than The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, I have yet to meet them.
For over 50 years, she has been the most sane aspect of my life. Without her, I don't know where I would be today. At least I wouldn't recognize where I'm at.
It wasn't until I hit my 70s that I realized my sanity had disappeared. I have no idea where it went, and believe me, I have searched for it for a long time. I even watched a Three Stooges movie and still did not find it. Where else would it be?
All of this came together this past week.
I was working on a project that needed to be finished by the end of the month. Sometimes those projects stress me out. But finishing a project is a wonderful experience. I enjoy it very much.
Then my phone rang, interrupting my moment at the time. Sometimes I don't turn my phone on until the end of the day, but I had it on this morning.
When I answered it, I was rather surprised. According to the person on the other end of the phone, I had made a marvelous victory. According to the person on the phone, I had won over $5 million plus a brand-new Mercedes. I can't tell you how happy I was.
I couldn't thank the person on the phone enough for this marvelous win. I didn't know if I had regained my sanity or if I had dropped to a lower level of sanity.
Do you know what I could do with that kind of money? Neither do I.
When he told me about my winnings, I laughed hysterically and couldn't thank him enough over the phone.
"When can I expect my winnings?" I asked the guy on the phone.
"We can send it to you today," he said very happily. "Just give us your address and it'll be on its way."
Then I had an unusual sane moment. Thinking about it, I asked, "How much is this going to cost me?"
"Oh, my lucky friend. All you have to do is pay a $1500 processing fee and the package will be yours."
Sanity started knocking on my door, and I began thinking, "It'll only cost me $1500 to get $5 million. That shouldn't be too much to ask for."
Sanity began whispering in my ear, suggesting a question. So, I responded to the person on the phone and said, "That sounds great. Just deduct that $1500 from my $5 million winnings, and we got a plan."
If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. He gets his fee, and I get my winnings. What's wrong with that?
From the other end of the phone, I heard, "That's not possible. I've already wrapped your cash money in a box and I am not able to unwrap it and take money out. You will have to send me the $1500 through some gift card that you can get at the store."
Yeah, right, a gift card. I may have lost a lot of sanity along the way, but I have now experienced a revival of my sanity.
It seems feasible to send him the money so I can receive my reward.
I continued my phone conversation and asked an important question: "Sir, how do I know I can trust you to send me the money?"
He chuckled on the phone and then said most bravely, "You can trust me with anything. I'm not here to scam anybody I'm just here to get you your winnings to you as fast as possible. Believe me, you can trust me. Everybody trusts me."
He then sent me photographs of other people who had won millions of dollars. As if I'm going to believe that.
Responding to those pictures, I said, "How can you prove to me that those are real people with winnings and not some AI production?”
"Oh my friend," he said most enthusiastically, "you can trust me I would never lie to someone like you."
If this wasn't a scam, I've never heard of one. I responded by saying, "When you send me my winnings, I will pay you the processing fee plus a $500 tip. How does that sound?"
The only sound I heard was "click," and he was no more. I love it when my sanity shows up with a smile every once in a while.
As I was thinking about this, a verse of scripture came to mind. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
True sanity comes from God. He gives me everything I need to be all He wants me to be. He is the only one I can truly trust, and that’s my daily discipline.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.
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