My grandma passed away this morning just a few months shy of her 97th birthday. She was a widow for almost 30 years. I’m glad she gets to be with my grandpa again, as well as two of her children, her parents and all of her 10 siblings who went on before her. She leaves behind a legacy of faith that has impacted my life.

As I have thought about some of my memories of her, the following story comes to mind from a time she was visiting us in Arizona.

My grandma sat at the kitchen counter chewing on one of my famous chocolate chip cookies. Ok, so ‘famous’ is relative, but all my friends loved them and they definitely helped me get more than one date in high school.

“These are good cookies,” she said.

My 16-yr-old ego grew a little. I mean, this was the woman who had these really good chocolate chip cookies in a monk cookie jar with the inscription “Thou Shalt Not Steal.”

It was her recipe that I tried to mimic when I made my own adjustments to a recipe I found. So, to have her tell me my cookies were ‘good’ made me feel as if I had arrived.

“You’re a good cookie baker,” she continued. Wow, she was impressed; she called me a good cookie baker!

She wasn’t done…

“Do you know the difference between a good cookie baker and a great cookie baker?”

Wait, what? Not great? Ego deflated. What was I missing? Some special ingredient that she could somehow identify?

“No. What?” I said.

“A great cookie baker cleans up after himself.” She grabbed another cookie and walked out of the kitchen.

I looked around. Messy counters. A sink full of dishes. All left for someone else to clean up. She wasn’t wrong. But it stung.

Eager to please, I cleaned up right away and I became a great cookie baker that day–at least according to my grandma.

The lesson has always stayed with me. Finish what you begin. Don’t leave messes for others. Own the whole process—not just the part you enjoy.

And so the lesson applies to life. What we leave behind matters. It is the difference between good and great.

Thanks Grandma.

More memories about my grandparents…