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Hey Dad,

Things are mighty busy around the old Wilson house. We just got back from speaking at Spruce Lake Camp in Pennsylvania and then had to be in Chicago to speak shortly after that. My beloved bride thought it would be a great time to kill two birds with one stone, so we all went and tackled IKEA the same day. Now we're bushed and running on fumes.

While we were in Pennsylvania, I told the group a story about a dad who travels too much and whose child asked him to "please come home." Afterwards, I walked out of the building with a couple, and as soon as we hit the outdoors, the wife took off unannounced and walked right into the woods.

"I guess she's going on a hike," the husband said with a look of surprise.

Later, the wife came up to me and apologized for "running off." Being a man, which means I am almost never offended by anything, I assured her I didn't think anything of it. Then she explained her "need for a hike."

"After you told that story about the traveling dad … I just lost it." I expected her to tell me that her husband is a workaholic and that he is gone all the time, but that's not what she said. "My dad traveled and was gone A LOT," she said through teary eyes. "Forty years later, I still feel that impact."

She paused, and for a moment I saw a little girl who desperately needed her daddy. Then she added: "Tell that to all those dads you speak to."

And so I am. Because one day, even if it's 40 years later, your son or daughter will still feel the impact of your absence. That's the power you have in their lives. That's Father Power.

You 'da dad,

© 2009 Todd Wilson. Used by permission

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