Golden and Francis Nephi Grigg are names we probably don’t recognize. But we certainly recognize the wonderful culinary gift they gave us. And it all came from what was considered garbage!
Let me take you back to 1934 when Francis and Golden formed a company to distribute their growing crop of sweet corn. They called it Grigg Brothers – what else? But these young entrepreneurs weren’t finished. They wanted to branch out into the potato market. Now, they are marketing French fries.
In 1949, the brothers rented a building in Ontario, Oregon to process their fries. They needed a catchy name for the company, something with a bit more pizzaz than Grigg Brothers. A contest to name the company was proposed to the employees and Clora Lay Orton came up with the name. The company is in Oregon, but the potatoes were mostly coming from Idaho, the neighboring state to the east. Why not combine the name? And, thus was born, Ore-Ida.
As the advertisements say, “But wait, there’s more!”
The French fries produced a lot of scrap product. The Griggs would typically sell it off to farmers to be used as slop for the hogs. The idea struck them that they could do a better job providing for people rather than animals. With some experimentation with dicing the scraps and adding flour and spices, they created something that is a crowd pleaser. The scraps mixture was placed in a plywood mold and out came these little nuggets. We know them as Tator Tots. Tater is a euphemism for potatoes and tots was a nod to the small size.
Who doesn’t love Tator Tots?!? There are so many different uses for them. They make a great breakfast casserole. They are a perfect snack or finger food for a group. Or they accompany numerous other main courses like burgers, brats, hotdogs, and more.
Now, here’s where we move into the spiritual application. In 1971, Gloria Gaither wrote the familiar song Something Beautiful. We know the chorus well, but we aren’t as familiar with the verse.
If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And hope for life’s best were the hopes
That I harbor down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of life
And laid it at the cross.
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life.
“Gloria Gaither shares that the song came from their oldest child, Suzanne. One day she was painting and spilled some paint. Vigilantly she tried to clean up the mess.
“She told Gloria, “Oh Mommy,” she sobbed, “I tried to make you something beautiful but just look! I dropped some paint.” She heaved and caught her breath. “I tried to fix it, but it just got worse and now just look!”
“From there the idea formed about how God can transform our lives and hearts from our messes.”1
The Griggs might be able to transform potato scraps fit for hogs into yummy Tator Tots, but God transforms lives and hearts that are corrupt and vile with sin into something beautiful.
When we called upon the name of Jesus to be saved, we were instantly given a new life. We traded the filthy garments of our lives for the robes of salvation. Isaiah 61:10 says it perfectly. “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
The Lord continues to work on us, making us what we ought to be as we are conformed to the image of His Son. Rest assured, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
1https://dianaleaghmatthews.com/something-beautiful/
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