The Indianapolis 500 is a Burns family tradition. My father took me many times to the race, and I remember sitting on the seats, feeling amazed at the speed of those cars. An Indy car goes two football fields per second. It’s a rocket on wheels. And Indy cars make four left-hand turns that are almost ninety degrees. It’s pretty amazing.

This year, my son and I went back to the Indianapolis 500 after a break of almost ten years. There is so much tradition at the 500 – Florence Henderson singing “God Bless America,” Jim Nabors singing “Back Home Again in Indiana,” the balloon launch, and other things that have been going on for a hundred years. And this was the one-hundredth running of the Indianapolis 500. With all that tradition, all that excitement, and all the people who were there, what made the Indianapolis 500 special to me was being there with my son – talking as we drove, spending the night together, listening to each other, and watching what God is doing in his life.

I would encourage our mission family to take time with their kids – time to build a special tradition. For us, it’s the Indianapolis 500. For you, it may be a walk at the beach or an overnight at one of our camps. But that time building relationships with our kids is one of those things that is absolutely required for us to be good fathers, mothers, and leaders in our homes.

It was a great couple of days with my son, days I won’t soon forget.