Our family planned a wonderful vacation to Costa Rica. My daughter wanted to see a rainforest, my son wanted to see a volcano, and I wanted to hike. We chose a tour company reputable in the area to enable us to visit a volcano, cloud forest, rainforest, butterfly garden, turtle refuge, wildlife rehabilitation center, beach, and other things. We were to walk over suspension bridges and ride an aerial tram high up in the rainforest canopy. We were excited and prepared. We read the entire tour book and made lists of things to take. Forty-eight hours before departure we had nearly everything packed. We were excited. We were ready! We organized the travel paperwork and got the passports out of the safe. We had made sure we ordered the kid’s passports with plenty of time to leave for our trip. My husband and I have had passports for a while so we weren’t worried about them. Imagine the anxiety when we realized that my husband’s passport was expired!
One becomes a “passport expert” real quick when one faces such a situation. The internet is a real friend at times like this. We learned where the regional processing centers were, and where he could go to get an expedited passport. The only problem was that this was July 2nd, and the next day was July 3rd, a federal holiday in honor of July 4th. He left at 1:30 am July 3rd “just in case” they were open, but to no avail. He visited a private passport processing company that Friday morning hoping to hear good news. But there was really no hope to get a passport until Monday, and we were flying out on Saturday morning. We did not purchase travel insurance, and even if we had I really could not easily change my vacation at work at the last minute. We considered our options, but faced the unhappy reality that my kids and I would have to leave for a foreign country without him until he could get a passport Monday morning.
For those of you reading this who think that you might get away with leaving the country with an expired passport, think again. We checked on that too. The passport is scanned into the computer, so there is really no room for human error when it comes to checking the dates. And the thought of having my husband imprisoned in or deported from a foreign country was far more anxiety-provoking than going without him. Thankfully we were vacationing with a reputable tour company that took care of all of our needs once we arrived. While the kids and I did our best to make the most of our vacation and still enjoyed the activities, we were ever aware that there was something sadly missing. We missed our husband and daddy.
During this whole ordeal my mind traveled often to the story of Ridley Barren, who lost his wife instantly in a car accident, and lost his young son as a result of a medical error a few days later. I had just heard his seminar a few days before our trip. I had the chance to read his book during travel time on our vacation, and I could not help but think my worries were petty compared to that. My husband was able to join us on day 4 of our vacation, and spent 5 of our 9 days with us. It was after much effort, as he had to arrive super early at the passport office with a sad story to appeal for an appointment, then sit all day awaiting processing. Then he had to take a separate flight, and a very expensive taxi ride in the middle of the night on back-country roads with no guardrails, in the dark, in the rain. But he made it safely, and we were so excited to see him. We had a wonderful rest of our vacation.
This whole ordeal left me to ponder what life would be like without him. What if I had to take every family vacation without him from now until forever? I’m sure I’d be taking a lot more organized tours like this one, with the safety of a reputable company around me. But having him with me is much, much, much, much, much better. Feeling his his safety and security, while embraced by his love, is far better than being without it. Seeing him “move heaven and earth” to get to us reminded me of his love for us and his joy for our presence.
On our trip, we marveled at God’s creation and the diversity of plant, animal, insect, bird, and other species on this glorious planet. But the real lesson was not found in God’s beautiful creatures, but rather on the beautiful and supernatural love he engenders between people he places in a “family.” May we always remember what is truly important in life…the love of family and friends, and the demonstration of that love through service and actions. And may I always continue to appreciate my husband for the way he loves and protects us, giving thanks to God for bringing him to my life.
