A friend gave me some M&Ms. The fun size. The size with eight pieces in a package. She gave me three bags of these packages, about thirty little 8-piece-in-a-package packages.

On one hand, I’d rather have them in one big bag, so I can eat them by the handful. After all, because they have peanuts in them, they are healthy. They are nutritious. Not as nutritious as the dark chocolate kind would be, but still.

However, I discovered that the small size were perfect for taking in my briefcase. They were perfect for taking in the car with the driving I’ve done this fall.

So I wrote my friend a thank you note. Rather than thanking her for the M&Ms, I thanked her for the events and trips and conversations and writing that each bag of M&Ms helped me with. The boost to keep me awake. The boost to take the edge off.

I know. There are other, more healthy things to do. But I am who I am, the gift was what the gift was, and they helped. And that’s what I told her about, the helping. It was a good exercise for me. It made me think more carefully about something I eat randomly, nervously, mindlessly.

My friend told me that she kept the thank you card.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it’s in the middle of the book. (Check for yourself if you have a Bible around. Look at the page numbers from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. See if Psalm 119 doesn’t fall halfway between.) The poet wrote a stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And each sentence is about God’s words.

I wonder if God stuffed Psalm 119 in the middle of his Bible for the same reason my friend saved my note.