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Hey Dad,

Maybe it was traveling in the Cleveland Triangle a few nights ago that threw off my what-really-matters equilibrium, but for a little while, it was touch and go.

You see, a couple of years ago while RVing through the fair city of Cleveland, our RV caught fire. It didn't burn to the ground … but it could have. After some clever ingenuity, we were able to get back on the road. Then, the next year we were traveling down the same stretch of the Ohio turnpike (within a mile or two of the fire incident location) when the infamous wild turkey appeared out of nowhere and crashed THROUGH our windshield.

So you can see why I get a little spooked traveling anywhere near … THE TRIANGLE. In fact, right before we pulled out of the driveway the other day, my son Ben (13), who rode shotgun with me asked, "So where we going?"

"Cleveland," I answered as calmly as I could.

A second of silence preceded his eerie response, "That's a bad omen."

Nothing bad happened this time, but right when I was inside the triangle, I struggled with remembering what's most important. Tooling down the road, I noticed all the nice, shiny cars that were zipping past my increasingly rusty '89 Ford Taurus. I envisioned the Familyman logo emblazoned on the side of several white, sparkling beauties, and more than once mumbled to myself, "That one would be perfect."

That's when I realized THE TRIANGLE had clouded my rational thinking. I really started to believe that shiny cars matter. It was only after I calculated how many times I would have to speak, how many books I would have to sell, and how many hours of my limited life I would have to spend to pay for one of those shiny cars that I returned to my senses.

You won't win this time, TRIANGLE, I thought. Shiny cars don't matter. Rusty is just fine with me.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there must be a lot of "triangles" out there whispering to dads of every age and income, "Shiny cars matter, nice houses matter, big salaries matter, golf scores matter, successful ministries matter, 'stuff' matters."

The truth is … they don't.

It's your relationships with your wife, children, family, and friends that matter.

So Dad, you might be in a "triangle" right now. Take a few minutes and remind yourself of what matters … and what doesn't.

You 'da Dad,

© 2007 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

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