May God strike me dead if any of this is untrue. On Sunday morning, I awoke to the line on the London game moving to Patriots +7, 42.5. It was too tempting. I bet two units on a same-game parlay and headed to the Hunstville (Ohio) Presbyterian Church where I was scheduled to serve on the pulpit as the lay reader. Upon arrival, a member of the choir asked me, “How are you doing?” I said, “I’ll tell you in a second.” Then I checked @FanDuel. New England led Jacksonville 7-0. “I’m great,” I responded. But I thought, if I need to hedge, it is going to be pretty awkward if I have to do it at the pulpit in front of pastor, Mrs. QC, the congregation, and the God himself. “Surely, the Lord understands hedging is a time sensitive matter,” I thought. I was able to steal a quick glance at my phone during a hymn. Patriots 10-0. “Cash out!” my brain screamed. But I did not have time. I had to ask the congregation if anyone had anything they wanted us to pray for. I asked for prayers for Chris Andrews’ son Joe (he passed recently) and Chris and his family. Then another hymn. I got in another glance. The Jaguars had scored, 10-7. Tick, tick, tick. I needed to get back to my seat in the crowd with Mrs. QC. I covered the final prayer and went back to my seat. I stole another glance at the phone, which drew a look of disapproval from Mrs. QC. Jacksonville 22-10. WTF?! Like the devil himself, Parker Washington had struck with a 96-yard punt return for a TD. All hope seemed lost. The service concluded and we returned home. The Jaguars were now dominating New England. But then the Patriots made a fourth-down stop and scored a TD to trim the deficit to 25-16. Still, all hope was lost. If New England scored a TD it would get inside the number, but it also would push the score over the total. There was a little over 8 minutes to play. What to do? FanDuel offered the Jaguars -9.5 +104. I only had time to think about it briefly. The path to hell is paved with Q4 hedges in pursuit of break even. But I took the path. I just needed a field goal. Jacksonville drove, but New England stiffened. The Patriots took over. But then a holding penalty, a sack, and a stop gave the Jaguars the ball at the New England 10-yard line with 1:54 to play. The Jaguars’ Tank Bigsby ran for 4 yards. Then it happened. The only explanation is that Joe Andrews whispered in the Lord’s ear, “You see that guy down there? He’s a friend of my dad. He could really use some help right now.” Miraculously, Jerod Mayo stubbornly refused to accept the Patriots’ fate. Mayo called his second timeout. God bless you, Jerod Mayo! Bigsby ran for 2 yards. Mayo used his third timeout. There was still 1:45 to play. The Jaguars could not go into victory formation, kneel on it, and consume all the clock. Bigsby sliced 4 yards through the middle of the New England defense for the TD and the hedge cover, 32-16. Larry Merchant said when he was on the wrong side of the Immaculate Reception, “You have to pay on acts of God.” But sometimes, even when you are sinner like me, the Lord makes you whole.