Family

Gordon Hunter
 
When the mess started, I was sure my sinful nature was being punished. Our house, which had new floors installed the month before we purchased in January 2016, was not in need of renovations. My wife, who was set to enjoy the summer off from teaching, is a home body and needed some time to spend well deserved one-on-one with our son. In the time after we learned about the issues at our house, Hannah left for a week-long mission trip to Nicaragua.

That week really put things into perspective. She came home with a renewed sense of how blessed we really were. Homes in the third world country she’d spent time spreading God’s love had dirt floors and no running water in most cases. While we were inconvenienced by not being able to spend time in our own house, she reminded me that we are blessed.

My parents, Greg and Leesa Hunter, opened my childhood home to us like we were the prodigal son. We ate dinner as a family almost every night. My son was given one-on-one attention from the moment we walk in the door until the minute we left 46 days later. We had access to a full pantry and fridge, washer and dryer, rarely wanting for anything. We watch Moana for the 1st time during this process and I think we have watched it 75 times since. My son loves that movie and I now know the words to every song.

I often take for granted how much of a blessing it is to have extremely caring and involved parents. I don’t know how Hannah and I would have made it through this ordeal without them. Mom and Dad, I can’t express it enough, thank you. I am so grateful for all you have done for Hannah, Nelson and I.

During the middle of the month and a half out of our house, Hannah, Nelson and I were able to enjoy two nights on Hilton Head Island. Both Hannah’s family and mine spent many summers on that very island growing up. It’s crazy to think that our families shared this same tradition. Without ever knowing, we could have been listening to Greg Russell, climbing the lighthouse in Harbor Town, or eating icecream at the Salty Dog Cafe alongside one another in our youth. It was great to take Nels to experience the bike trails, taste Oreo Ice Cream and Mango Sorbet.

The Bohler Beach Week took place during the 3rd week of July every summer for the 1st 22 years of my life. Some of the best childhood memories I had took place during that week each year. My mother’s parents, Bobby and Pat Bohler, rented the same house in Sea Pines for as long as I can remember. My entire extended family, including aunts, uncles and cousins spent 7 days under the same roof. All 21 of us became a stronger family in that setting. The tradition came to a halt after my grandfather passed away in 2009. But this year, my grandmother used proceeds from the sell of her home of 53 years to rent a bigger house on Tybee Island. Our family has grown to 31 people with the addition of cousins getting married and having children. We spent the week of July 15th together again and it was even more glorious than I could have imagined. While I had to keep the phone in close proximity because we were still dealing with a contractor who was knee deep in repairing our house, it was a joy spending time with all of them in one house again!

God’s timing was all over this. Hannah and I work in education so the fact that this took place during the summer was blessing number one. I don’t want to imagine going through this with school in full swing. The relationships with my parents and my family grew stronger because of construction at our house. Hannah’s mission trip, mini vacation to Hilton Head and Bohler Beach Week were all a little sweeter because of the situation we were dealing with. We gained a deeper appreciation for our home, bed and belongings while understanding that these worldly positions are not a necessity. Houses can be repaired and things can be replaced. The finishing touches at our house were completed the day after we returned from Bohler Beach Week.

The good Lord allowed me the opportunity to work in the insurance industry for a year between working at Georgia Southern University and Calvary. During that time, I gained a valuable understanding of the claims process. We do have some out of pocket expenses but during my time working for State Farm, I added a mold rider to our homeowners policy. That saved us about $4,000. I was able to navigate the claim process with more knowledge because I had seen it from the inside. Only God could have prepared me in this way as I’ve never had a desire to work in insurance.

I prayed diligently for God to quickly reconcile this situation at the start of the summer. I prayed during the process that he would remove the trials that we faced. At times I thought my prayers were not being answer. Now that this summer is coming to a close and all the work on our house is done, I keep hearing the chorus of the old Garth Brooks song playing…

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
 
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