Blog: Family time

Written by: Dr. Joel Hunter

Posted on Apr 28, 2011

My son Luke is getting older. He just turned a year and a half this month. For those of you that don’t have children, that means that he is old enough to throw things in the toilet (as he did with my wallet last night), but not old enough to understand why that’s a bad idea. What is amazing about being a father is the amount of love you feel for someone that throws your wallet in the toilet, when that is usually the type of thing that can ruin a relationship.

As my wife Lizzy and I have transitioned from newlyweds, to normal married couple, to new parents, to a plain-old family of three, our appreciation for family and time with family has grown. As with any change of stage in life, the transition is imperceptibly slow, but the realization of what you’ve become seems like it happens in a blink. One day you are on your honeymoon in Costa Rica, and the next you are trying to keep your son from climbing into the dryer. From first dates, to family pictures on Easter, so much changes when you’re not looking.

I’ve changed too. While I have always loved every second of laser eye surgery, my passions have widened over the years instead of narrowing. The joy of engaging in your true calling starts to bleed over into every area of your life as new callings show up over the years. No where have I found this to be more true than as a husband and father. The deep gladness that fills my soul when I walk through the door after work to see Luke in a full, uncoordinated sprint with his arms reaching up for me is hard to describe. The true satisfaction of time with family in the evenings is something I couldn’t have described to myself 10 years ago. How could I have? The calling to family time wasn’t there yet.

If this is how I feel after my wallet gets thrown in the toilet, I can only imagine how proud and happy I’ll be when Luke learns to drive.