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My name is Tanner Olson and I am an author, poet, and speaker. Here I share whatever comes to mind. Sometimes I’ll post a prayer or poem or reflection or story. Before you move onto the next thing hit the subscribe button!
10:27
There were three cars in line when Cassie and I pulled into the McDonald’s drive thru. It was 10:27 in the morning and the electronic screen flashed endless photos of breakfast items. McMuffins, biscuit sandwiches, pancakes, and hashbrowns. The big news is that breakfast bagel sandwiches are back, but I wasn’t in line for a bagel.
I’m here for a McGriddle.
Have you had a McGriddle?
Whoever invented the McGriddle deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Using warm, soft pancakes, with the perfect taste of sweet maple as the bread for this breakfast sandwich is pure genius. The sandwich is a gift to mankind. Possibly one of the greatest culinary accomplishments our world has ever witnessed. I’m surprised Jesus hasn’t returned just to try one.
10:28
There are still three cars in front of us. The person ordering is taking their sweet time. This is either their first time ordering or they don’t care about the line of cars behind them. I remind myself that patience is a Fruit of the Spirit, but I’m not hungry for fruit. I want a McGriddle.
Cassie and I were on our way to the airport to fly to opposite sides of the country. We spent the weekend with 450 middle and high school students at a camp in Missouri, speaking about the love and kindness of God and how in Christ we have everlasting life.
Together we leaned into the heaviness and uncertainty that comes with being a human being. We wrestled with big emotions and held fast to an even bigger God. Cassie and I told stories, read scripture, asked questions, and did what we came there to do: offer hope. We talked about how in Christ everything will be made okay, even if everything isn’t okay today. I felt like a broken record, inviting them to believe again and again that hope never ends and that we are not forgotten by God, but loved by Him.
It was an incredible weekend, one that would soon be topped off with a McGriddle.
10:29
There is now only one person between us and ordering. I am trying to remember if breakfast ends at 10:30 or 11. I tell myself it’s 11, but deep down I know it’s 10:30. Why do we live in a world where we think breakfast food shouldn’t be served all day?
10:30
The clock ticks again. 10:29 becomes 10:30 and the electronic sign (and my entire world) goes dark for a split second. Lunch items are now being advertised. Breakfast is over. I didn’t come here for a Big Mac or Happy Meal, I came here for a McGriddle. Just as the sign switched over the car sitting between us and ordering pulls forward. It was now our turn. I let my foot off the brake, pulled forward, and said a silent prayer.
Please, God. Just as you let there be light, let there be breakfast. Amen.
10:30 and a few seconds
“Welcome to McDonald’s. What can I get for you?”
I spoke with confidence. This wasn’t the time to ask if they were still serving breakfast.
“A sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddle, please.”
My request was met with silence and hesitation.
“Sorry sir, we are no longer serving breakfast.”
My eyes close and head drops.
I exhale as if I have received the world’s worst news.
And at this moment, I have.
I am not “lovin” it.
10:31
“But it is just now 10:31. I was in line.”
“You missed it by one minute. I’m sorry.”
I turned to Cassie and with a straight face told her I was destroyed.
Sure, this sounds dramatic, but if you’ve been looking forward to something as perfect as a McGriddle, you’d know I am not being dramatic. Did you not hear about how the bread is pancakes? This is an appropriate response.
We ordered coffees and nothing else.
“Have a good day,” said the voice through the box.
“Probably not,” I whispered back.
When we pulled to the window I thought maybe they would surprise us with a bag full of McGriddles. Maybe Ronald McDonald himself would hand it to me and say, “Gotcha! Enjoy!”
But that didn’t happen.
10:33
Distraught and destroyed we were handed our coffees and off we went to the airport.
“Life won’t go the way you think it will go, but we will always have hope.”
This is something I said to the students this weekend.
Now, I am being dramatic and was wondering if it was true.
And it was.
The truth doesn’t change just because time does.
You don’t always get what you want, just like life won’t always go the way you think it will go.
You might miss breakfast, but you are never too late for hope.
Hope doesn’t end at 10:31.
Hope is available all day.
Just like breakfast should be.
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Oh my goodness!!! Please believe me when I say… “I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!” 😢🙂😂💕… But really it’s Best!!!