A Saint: Lost on Earth...Gained in Heaven

I've never met anyone with the birth name "Nana".  I believe there's a reason for that.  Nana is not a name that is just freely given, but a name that is earned.

It's earned by cooking lunch for dozens of kids, grandkids and great grandkids (even a few great-great grandkids) nearly every Sunday for decades.

It's earned by picking me up from elementary school in her blue Plymouth Acclaim and letting me ride on "the hump" (the armrest between the two front seats) without a seat belt.  She'd be thrown in jail for that these days.

It's earned by making sure that everyday after middle and high school (before I could drive) that as I walked up the driveway from the bus, there would be a honey bun appetizer ready for the microwave, a Totino's pizza in the oven and vanilla ice cream ready to be perfectly mixed with Nestle Quik powder.  Not the healthiest after school food, but hey, she was a grandmother right?

It's earned by letting me help her fill the Lord's Supper grape juice cups at church and then allowing me to drink all the leftovers.

It's earned by enduring more personal tragedy than any one person should be able to handle, but still being able to laugh at nearly every situation that comes your way.

It's earned by being a near perfect representation of what a Godly Woman should be.

In all honesty, my faith in God has waivered at times in my life.  If after I die, there is a question and answer time before going into Heaven, I think I'll ask if my Nana is in there.  If a true Saint, in my eyes, like Nana didn't make it, I'm positive that I don't deserve to be there.

I've never met anyone quite like my Nana.  Even after getting 31 years of time with her (only a third of her life), it doesn't seem like enough.  I'm going to miss her for the rest of the time I have here but I do know that someday I will get to see her again.

I love you Nana.

Don't Just See The Finish Line

In James C. Collins' book, "Good To Great", he explains that BAD is not the enemy of GREAT.  The true enemy of GREAT is GOOD.  

Think about a person who has trained for months to run their first 26.2 mile marathon.  All the sweat, all the pain and all the sacrifice that goes into the journey leading up to race day.  On race day, they step up to the starting line in the best shape of their life and are ready to do this.  At mile 25.2, they can see the finish line up a 1 mile slope.  Thoughts start creeping in like, "I've already accomplished more than most people will in their lifetime by training and running 25.2 miles and I'm so tired...I've done good enough."  Imagine the regret of stopping just 1 mile short of completing something you've worked so hard to achieve because it was, "good enough".

What does this have to do with money?  My wife and I had a "we've done good enough" moment a few weeks ago.  Are we running a marathon..no way.  But we have been on a 33 month "marathon" to pay off our house.  In the middle of month 32, with only 3 months to go, we nearly decided to slow down on the rest of the payments and enjoy ourselves a little more.  After all, in the last 32 months we'd done more than most people can or are willing to do in 4x that amount of time.  We almost decided to stretch out our last three huge (sacrificing lifestyle) payments, for a more comfortable 6 or 12 months of payments.

Thankfully we've decided that "good enough" is NOT good enough.  We are going to push through the next few months and keep pushing until we feel the tape at the finish line tight against our chest and then that final moment when the tape snaps and the tension of the sacrifices we've made over the last 35 months falls away.

Don't settle for good...PUSH FOR GREAT!  

Don't just see the finish line...CROSS IT!