The Candy Man and Psalm 27

I went to Wabash Tap last night to meet with a couple who goes to Urban Village and we were sitting there, quietly (well, not so quietly as the Blackhawks game was on in the background) chatting and they were munching on cheeseburgers when a man approached us. His odor and demeanor made it pretty clear that he had been drinking quite heavily. He was wearing a Blackhawks jersey and he put a miniature Stanley Cup down on our table.

"I need you to rub this for good luck," he slurred.

For those who don't know, the Blackhawks are in the playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks, but they were behind 3 games to none in the best-of-seven series. In other words, things were looking pretty grim.

The man started chatting about the Blackhawks for a while (I'm not a hockey fan, but I knew enough to keep the conversation going) and, after we rubbed the cup for luck, he moved on to the next table. About 15 minutes later, he was back. He had a plastic Walgreens bag filled with large boxes of Whoppers, Sno-Caps, and Jujyfruit candies.

"Here," he said. "Take one."

I wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but apparently he wanted us to have one of these boxes of candy. I wondered why he was being so generous and he explained to me that people knew him around that bar as the Candy Man because he gives away candy. Who am I to say no to the Candy Man so I took a box of Whoppers. I wanted to thank him by his real name so I asked him what other name he goes by. "I'm also known as Mr. Big," he said.

Of course he is.

This morning, I read my latest Favorite Verse in the Bible from Psalm 27:13-14: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" I particularly like verse 13. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I've been repeating that to myself all day today and when thinking of my interaction with the Candy Man (aka Mr. Big), I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in that exchange.