One of the themes that we have been looking at through advent as a family is God’s amazing provision for His people-- a promised son, a ram in the bushes, bread in the wilderness, a kinsman redeemer, oil and flour that does not run-out, shutting the lions’ mouths, and ultimately a promised savior.
So we’ve been waiting for our French visas and in California we received the slightly cryptic message from the Consulate in Boston that our passports were ready to be picked up. They didn’t tell us we had actually gotten our visas, only that “a decision has been reached concerning your visa application”. Still we were pretty confident that Tom would find everything in order. It was just a matter of going into Boston and picking them up.
Now we have learned from others and from our few experiences that the French government likes rules and forms, and can be quite strict about everything being in order. The only times passports with processed visas can be collected is from 2:30-3:30pm on Monday-Friday. So the plan was for Tom to go the first Monday after we returned from California. (It was really our only fully free afternoon that week.)
We printed directions and planned on having him leave very early (just in case). We gathered all the paperwork from the visa application process (just in case) and he headed out. But right before he left he had the thought, “What if for some reason they want your photo ID too? Why don’t you give me your driver’s license just to be safe.” It seemed like a long-shot possibility, but better prepared, but also the avenue for God’s first provision. As I dug out my drivers’ license, I found Tom’s driver’s license tucked in with mine. I had both of them from showing them at the airport in California... Tom had almost left with no picture ID, they wouldn’t have even let him in the elevator to go up to the consulate without it.
We said a quick, “Thank you God,” and again Tom headed out the door. Now according to our plan, Tom should have arrived at the Consulate by 2:15-2:30, been the first one in and back home before we knew it. But many of the circumstances of our life are not under our direct control. For some unknown reason, Tom ran into a huge traffic jam as soon as he entered the highway. He didn’t make it into the city until 2:45. The road signs did not match the directions we had printed, so he missed the exit and spent more critical minutes backtracking and being trapped in the typical one-way, you-can’t-get-there-from-here, traffic patterns of downtown Boston. Then there was finding a parking place. By the time he was out of the car, it was 3:15. The consulate was still a couple blocks away, through the elevator security checkpoint, up seven flights, through the consulate security and to the visa office. He began having visions of the visa window turning him away because it was already 3:31pm.
Thankfully, when the clock struck 3:30pm, Tom was walking out of the French consulate with visas and passports in hand. There had been no lines, no delays. It was in and out, just what we had been praying for... Thank you God.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
We have our French visas! Tom’s poison oak is doing much better! We were able to get our Christmas shopping done, with kids in tow! It was a busy week with several good visits with old friends.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our family has been hit by a tummy bug this week-- pray for the remaining illness to pass quickly. We are still working to get our cell phone unlocked (using the official, legit means), but the cell phone company doesn’t make it an easy process. Pray that we would get the necessary code so we don’t have to buy another phone in France.
