Personal

A few weeks back I decided to build a dining room table and some benches to match. The benches aren’t shown but look very similar. We made the decision to make our own table simply because of the cost of something like a dining room set. Those things are expensive! It’s unfinished in the picture but I’m in the process right now of staining and sealing it. That seems to be the most time consuming part of the whole process.

I was proud of my accomplishments so I posted a picture of the table on my FB, Twitter, and Instagram and got a bunch of comments. Most of the comments were “good job” or “looks good” but one of them stood out more than the others.

I have the dining table my daddy built for my mom. Just know that one day your children will be sitting around it with the people they love. You won’t be present but you will not be forgotten. They will continue to give thanks for you, their daddy.

Oh to be able to remember half of the things that were said across my parent’s dining room table. I know there were tough discussions, because I’m sure I was apart of them, but I also know there were many laughs. I’m sure there was some crying, but I know some of that crying was tears of joy.

The idea of if the walls could speak, or rather our furniture, what memories would they be able to recall or stories would they be able to tell. It’s funny how a table, or some other inanimate object, can bring so many thoughts to my mind. As I’ve been thinking about it lately, the one thought that keeps coming to my mind is thankfulness.

And for me, I’m thankful for meals around my parent’s dining room table, and I’m thankful my wife had the same experience with her family.

I’m thankful that my Lord calls me one of His own.

I’m thankful for my parents and the truths they instilled in me.

I’m thankful for the time I had with my mom, and I’m thankful for the time I still have with my dad, Gramps.

I’m thankful for the woman that chose to call me her husband, and I’m thankful for the wife and mother she is.

I’m thankful for the two adorable little rug-rats the Lord has entrusted me to care for and raise. And I pray daily that I’m setting a good example as the man that Owen needs to become, and the man Olivia will one day look for to marry.

I’m thankful for my great aunt and my great uncle and all of my aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and soon to be nephew/s.

I’m thankful the Lord has shown favor to me and my family in ways that I can’t even count.

So, I built a table, but now to me it’s more than a table. It’s an object where life will take place. This table will be witness to everything that happens and everything that’s said. If only there was a way for this table to record it all for the next generation of Farr’s that will sit around this table.

Perfection is the enemy of profitability. – Marc Cuban

My wife and I love the TV show Shark Tank. I was watching the spin off, Beyond the Tank when I heard Marc Cuban say the quote above. I had never heard that quote or any variation of it. Once I googled it, I realized you can interchange the last word, profitability, with many different words; Progress, completion, success and innovation just to name a few.

For me, I say it all the time, “I get that from my mom’s side of the family.” Perfection that is. I so struggle with making things perfect. You probably wouldn’t know it if you came and looked at my desk at work or saw how messy my garage was, but I can honestly say the word perfection has held me back from starting so many things.

Take this blog for example. I’ve probably owed the domain name for six or seven years. I’ve even attempted to start blogging when Apple had the program called iWeb. As you can see if you follow the link, it’s been gone for years. My problem was couldn’t start something that I couldn’t see the ending to and the end had to look perfect. It’s not that I was afraid to fail, I just really wanted to succeed.

It was funny, when I heard Mr. Cuban say the quote to the company he was trying to help succeed, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to rewind it to hear him say it again. I’m pretty sure I rewound it a few times. It was like I had been doing something wrong of so long. I literally went to work and started some things that I was waiting for the perfect time to start.

Maybe your like me and you want things perfect. Or maybe you just can’t see the end. But maybe that doesn’t matter. I encourage you to start something today that you’ve been waiting for the perfect time. Today is that time.

Category: Personal

So I Built A Table…

Perfection… Maybe Not So Much