Sand filled Sandwiches

We owe a lot, in British culture, to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), who was the inventor of the great British classic, the humble sandwich.

In recent weeks, we have seen Marks and Spencers launch there summer special, a Strawberries and Cream Sandwich, which rather amusingly led to an argument over VAT, most sandwiches are zero rated for VAT, but sweetened or confectionary items are liable for the standard 20% VAT.

Whether it was a savoury or a sweet treat, is arguable, but one fact remains, more than 200 years after his death, sandwiches remain a very popular choice at lunch time.

As I child, I thought I knew exactly why sandwiches were called sandwiches, and it had nothing to do with the 4th Earl of Sandwich, it was simply because having eaten sandwiches on a day trip to the seaside, the sandwich ended up fully seasoned with gritty sand. I assumed they had been named after one such similar outing. It was years later that I would discover that Sandwich is actually a place in Kent, and who ‘invented’ the sandwich.

Over the coming month, many of us, will hopefully have the opportunity to go to the beach and maybe even eat our sand filled sandwiches. Not only does the sand go in our food when we are at the beach, but it has the amazing ability of getting just about everywhere, falling out of shoes and socks for days after, a lasting memory of a trip to the seaside.

It would of course be impossible for us to count the grains of sand in a single handful when we go to the beach, let alone consider how many grains of sand there might be on the beach or on all the beaches in the world.

But God promised Abraham in the book of Genesis that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told. (Gen 22:17)

So when you are next at the beach, why not take a closer look at the sand, and as it runs through your fingers, think about that promise God made to Abraham, and remember that we are those descendants, each one of us, even though numerous, precious and beloved by God.

May God bless you, Heather