Pancake Sandwiches

Have you ever been embarrassed by your lunch?

I have.

When I was in third grade, my family didn’t have much. In fact, one of the few things we had in the kitchen was a box of Bisquick. One day, I opened my lunchbox and found something I was sure no one else in the cafeteria had ever seen.

Not bread. Pancakes.

Peanut butter and blackberry preserves spread between two pancakes. And what else could you call it? It was a pancake sandwich.

I spent the whole morning dreading lunch. I was convinced that if anyone saw what I had, they’d think I was strange. So when lunchtime came, I barely cracked open my lunchbox, trying to sneak a bite without anyone noticing.

That plan lasted about thirty seconds.

A curious and rather pushy classmate named Vince wanted to know what I was hiding. Before long, several kids had gathered around my lunchbox.

I braced myself. Instead of laughing, they all wanted to try it.

One kid traded me a bag of Doritos for half of my sandwich. I’d never had Doritos before. Another traded me a Zinger for the other half. I thought I was eating like a king.

That afternoon I got home and asked if I could have two pancake sandwiches in my lunch the next day.

I’ve thought about that story many times over the years. I saw a pancake sandwich. The other kids saw the coolest lunch in the cafeteria.

How often do we look at our own lives the same way? We’re remarkably good at noticing what we don’t have while overlooking what God has already placed in our hands.

When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, He didn’t begin by asking Moses what he lacked. He asked a simple question:

“What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2)

A shepherd’s staff. It didn’t look like much. But God wasn’t asking Moses to focus on what he didn’t have. He was asking him to see what he already had.

I wonder how many “pancake sandwiches” we carry through life. Gifts we overlook. Experiences we hide. Stories we’re embarrassed to tell. All because we’ve convinced ourselves they aren’t enough.

Maybe we’ve been looking at them from the wrong side of the lunch table. Maybe today God is asking you the same question He asked Moses:

“What is that in your hand?”

And if all you’ve got is pancakes…make pancake sandwiches.

Wishing you faith for today,

Roy