Good morning everyone!
I am happy to be writing a new series of Monday Minutes after taking off a couple of weeks to refocus.
I have been able to do some thinking over the past several weeks because of some peaceful travel. Last week my Grandfather passed away at the age of 91! He lived a pretty awesome life and was a very influential part of why Run2Gun was created! I grew up seeing my Grandfather, great uncles and father hunt, I was able to hear their stories and feel their passion for the outdoors. Seeing my hunting mentors age and stop doing some of the hunts I dreamed about was painful to me, I wanted to help people prolong their outdoor journey’s, so a long came Run2Gun. Now it feels as though we do so much more than that, which gets me thinking about what little happenings in our life really mean.
When I was in early high school I was working for my dad during the summer on our local Sportsman club for shooting sports. We were building an addition that would be one of the nicest in the state! One day in the middle of summer we were working in the hot sun, fitting some boards where the original building would meet the new addition. I was helping my grandfather down in the dug out portion of the new building. In order to save time I thought I would jump out of the hole to go cut the boards for Grandpa, who was in his early 80’s at the time. He would measure, I would cut, bam, we would get this done in no time!
This particular board was an angled cut that would meet in the corner of the building, I went and cut it and brought it back, pretty proud of myself because it fit pretty nicely. My grandfather told me I needed to take it back and cut off about 1/16 of an inch. I was a little confused because 1/16th of an inch? really? thats almost perfect! I went back and cut it anyway, took it back to my grandfather, this time to realize the board wasn’t even close to fitting. I insisted I would get it right the third time and went and cut an entirely new board. Again, the board fell short of grandpa’s standards, this time instead of sending me back to cut the board, he gave me $10 to get ice cream for the both of us. When I returned he had a PERFECTLY installed board done and finished.
Moral of the story, at the time, I didn’t see what my Grandfather was doing, I wanted to get the job done, and do it good. He was going to do it PERFECT, no matter what. He was setting a standard for himself and for me, showing me to not settle for less than what you deserve and others deserve. “Nothing Less Than Perfect” was what it really meant. I see that now, and I can see my Grandfathers work in my own father, in myself and in my brother. All because of the standards he set and his father before him.
Have a great week everyone! settle for nothing less than perfect!
Best,
Jordan Miller
P.S.
Psalms 18:30
God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is the shield for all who look to him for protection
Picture above is my sister and I with my Grandfather in his wheat fields in central, SD. Early 1990’s