A Lesson from a Missing Passport
Sometimes things just don’t go to plan! I had a day like that yesterday. My son was due to fly out to the Netherlands to spend the half term with his dad – the first time he’d flown over to see his Dutch family in well over a year. He was, as you would imagine beside himself with excitement. For weeks before hand he was counting down the days until he went. He couldn’t sleep Wednesday night and woke very early Thursday morning.
I was to take him to meet his dad at Heathrow. Thursday morning, we packed his suitcase with his clothes and his toys, remembering to pack his beloved Teddy, which he can’t sleep without. We checked and re-checked his bags, making sure we had remembered everything he needed and wanted to take with him. Once we were certain we had everything I bundled Lucas and his bags into the car, filled the car up with petrol and off we went.
The sun was shining, it was a beautiful autumn day. The traffic was light, and we made good time. We found ourselves a parking space in the carpark and headed down to meet Lucas’s dad in the coffee shop. We found him quickly, settled ourselves down and then, like a tidal wave of panic, it hit me…I’d forgotten Lucas’s passport! The one thing you must never, ever forget, I had forgotten. We were 90 minutes away from home and check in in only two hours’ time. I left Lucas with his dad, and I ran. I ran to the carpark, jumped into my car, and proceeded to make the journey home to collect the one thing my son needed to be able to get on that flight.
The whole 90-minute journey back home I was praying, “Lord, please let me make it in time.” “Please can the roads be clear.” “Please give me the strength to manage the driving.” And all the while verbally beating myself up for forgetting it. “How could I be so stupid as to have forgotten it?” “I am a terrible mum.” “What if he misses his flight?” “Lucas will never forgive me if I don’t make it on time.” And many other not so pleasant things were running through my head. Wishing I could go back to the last suitcase check so that I could remember his passport.
I made it home, ran up the stairs to my bedroom and grabbed the passport out of the drawer and ran back downstairs to find my house mate putting her shoes on. “I am not letting you drive all the way back, when you’re so stressed,” she said, and we bundled into her car, and she drove me back to Heathrow airport. We made it in time with just minutes to spare, phew! I said a very rushed goodbye to my son, and we headed back home.
As I look back on yesterday, two things occur to me. The first is that in the midst of my panic and mental beatings of myself, I was praying “Lord, help me!” We do this don’t we, when we have done all we physically can do, we then turn to God for divine help. We pray. It’s instinctive for us to cry out to our heavenly father in the midst of all our stresses.
The second thing that occurs to me, God knew that I was going to find the journey tough and so he provided a helper in the form of my house mate who knew I was a nervous driver at the best of times and so wanted to help. I am very grateful for her. She got us there and back safely all the while keeping my spirits up. It is such a good reminder that when we pray, he hears, and he answers.
Let’s pray…
For all those people who are in the midst of a stressful situation, that they will remember that God hears their prayers
Thank Him for those times when he has sent a helper
Written by Naomi Ackland, Office Coordinator