A breakfast pastry has been on my mind. It’s not a nice, warm, Krispy Kreme or a delicious Cinnamon Bun. It’s not fancy but it has a sweet spot in my heart. It’s the Toaster Tart.
Toaster Tarts are something you would find at the Aldi grocery store. They are pretty common and placed directly next to the much more popular Pop Tarts. The Toaster Tarts and Pop Tarts are basically the same, just in different boxes and with much different price tags. I don’t know if they are made in the same factory or what but they are pretty darn close in taste, the same size, and definitely the same nutritional value, which is zero!
I discovered Toaster Tarts when the boys were pretty young. We spotted them in the breakfast aisle and had a chuckle that they were next to the more familiar Pop Tarts. The boys wouldn’t move off of the ol’ stand by but I was intrigued by the Toaster Tarts. They were all breakfast business with their simple packaging, to the point promises, and value pricing.
Once home, I opened the box and sure enough, they were wrapped in silver cellophane like Pop Tarts. They had a little different texture but once you took a bite it was a familiar taste. Maybe not exactly the same but hey, they are budget-breakfast items.
So our pantry was stocked with two boxes of similar items. That seemed like a waste of space so I pulled one of the meanest pranks ever in my fatherhood. I mixed the Toaster Tarts in with the Pop Tarts. They were the same flavor and similar packaging. I remember thinking that this would be the ultimate test of young boy taste buds but I had total faith in Toaster Tarts to be able to blend in and be like the others.
One morning I watched as Levi opened the pantry door. His hand slid into the Pop Tarts box and I tried to hide my excitement as he pulled out a silver sleeve of breakfast goodness. Which Tart would it be; Toaster or Pop?
I broke into conversation while the Tart went down into Levi’s belly. Nothing was said about the Tart and the wrapper went into the trash.
I checked later and it was the Toaster Tart!
The next day the same routine took place. I was so proud of myself. If I could just save the Pop Tart box and keep sliding Toaster Tarts inside we would save 10’s of dollars a year! Haha!
But a few bites in Levi put it all together. The box was not matching the taste. And he slid a look of disgust my way and asked the question. “Is this a Toaster Tart?!”.
I had to come clean. And we laughed. And Levi admitted the Toaster Tart was indeed good, but he preferred to not be fooled, or at least fooled so early in the morning.
We laugh about it now and Toaster Tarts still hold a valuable place in our family’s history. They also hold a spot in my mind because there are indeed times in our life that we are Toaster Tarts in a Pop Tart world. We are made unique and can be placed in other boxes, at least for a season.
Maybe you can relate. You may be happy to be in a box but it’s hard to fit. Not that anyplace on earth and with others will be perfect, but there are indeed places that we occupy where it’s challenging, both in the mind and spirit. Toaster Tarts in a Pop Tart world.
Just because it’s challenging doesn’t mean it’s an accident to be there. I didn’t place Toaster Tarts in Levi’s Pop Tart by accident after all!
How we manage Toaster Tartin’ is everything. We are made for purposes. Not necessarily a life of ease, prosperity, comfort, or fame. But there is purpose! It’s good to remember that there is something in between a Toaster Tart and whatever box they are placed in and that one thing is the wrapper.
Sometimes in breakfast items, and life, we tend to focus more on the box and all of its perceived goodness. But the wrapper keeps the Toaster Tart fresh. It keeps it from going stale. The box can contain bright colors, nutritional values, and have carefully crafted images of the product that make it seem wonderful but the wrapper is doing the work of making Toaster Tarts taste good!
We need to remember that. Long before Toaster Tarts and Pop Tarts there was the apostle Paul. He did some writing, not about cheap breakfast foods at Aldi, but as a way to encourage and steer the early church. He found himself as a new creation through Jesus Christ. Jesus presented himself in a way that truly grabbed Paul and he recognized this new wrapper was better than any box he had experienced before. And so he set off to tell the world about Jesus.
Paul moved. He traveled. He had all kinds of stories of hardships and places where he didn’t fit in. He was a Toaster Tart in a Pop Tart world. But that’s how the early church grew. Believers stuck together because of their common wrapper. They moved and migrated. They traveled and traversed. Believers were physically close for times and days-of-travel apart at times. They were placed in all kinds of lands and places where they didn’t quite fit, yet the message was received. The wrapper of Jesus became the story regardless of the box they were in.
Discipleship is really hard, especially when things don’t work the way we envisioned or wanted. Or when we are in places of discomfort. How we show the world what we are wrapped in is the point and often that is something that will feel crushing.
It’s not a bad thing to be a Toaster Tart. If you are feeling the strain of being just a little different and perhaps placed in a Pop Tart box just remember your Wrapper. There is a bigger reason for you. You aren’t misplaced, you are just set apart to be a little different! How you handle and respond is a great opportunity even in the discomfort. People need you…And they need to know your Wrapper.
