Famous Last Words: "We've never done it that way before."

A mentor of mine in my young adult years used to tell the story of a little girl who was watching her mother prepare a ham for roasting. She watched as her mother cut off both ends of the ham before placing it in the roasting pan. "Mommie, why do you cut off the ends of the ham before you put it in the oven?" asked the curious little girl. "Well, I'm not sure," answered the mother. "That's the way my mother always did it." The next time the girl was visiting her grandmother, she hopped at the chance to ask her, "Grandma, why do you always cut the ends off a ham before you put it in the oven?" Grandma, somewhat taken off guard by the question, replied, "Well, come to think of it, I'm not sure. That's just the way my mother always did it." Fortunately for the little girl, Great Grannie was still alive and kicking. At the next family reunion, the little girl had not forgotten her burning question. "Great Grannie, why did you always cut both ends off the ham before putting it in the oven?" "It's simple," answered the matriarch without skipping a beat. "My pan was too small!"

Are there areas in your life where you've never taken the time to take a step back and re-evaluate the way you do things? Who knows what innovations, what improvements might be waiting to happen if we dare to question. Of course, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But it might be "broke" and you just didn't realize it because of force of habit or familiarity.

"Question everything. Hold on to the good." - Paul the Apostle