Yes, you can get your passport renewed in one day!

Have you ever had a pit in your stomach that felt like you’d swallowed a baseball? That’s how I felt when I discovered my passport was expired—the day before our family trip to Mexico for Christmas.
I know, I should have paid more attention. But the truth is, I was the most organized for this trip than I’ve ever been before. I even bought a cute little green zippered canvas bag to carry all six of our passports in. I had safely tucked the passports in the bag two months early. I was prepared.

Until my husband tried to get our boarding passes online 24 hours before departure and made the agonizing discovery. My passport had expired in March. Who knew? Ten years is a long time and I just hadn’t thought to check.
We immediately started scrambling, desperate to find a way for me to make the trip. For hours, we scoured websites, called friends, looked for advice on how to renew my passport QUICKLY. Like, in one day. Expediting companies would still take 48 hours, risking mailing a rush order via FedEx, the week of Christmas, not to mention their hefty fees. Sheesh.
My daughter suggested, “Maybe you should call your Prayer Sisters.” Definitely! I sent an urgent message for prayer and immediately my friends were responding with words of encouragement and prayers of hope.

One of my dear sisters sent this message:
“Oh kathy I wish this was a dream instead of a nightmare!!! I will pray that the Lord will be gracious to u and bring a compassionate person who will jump thru hoops to help. Our God is greater than this problem. Rest in Him while we pray. Love. Me”
And her last line gave me the comfort I needed. “Rest in Him while we pray.” My first deep breath of the day.

Fortunately, we live in a city with a passport agency, but even that gave us no guarantee of an instant passport. The U.S. Government site was not encouraging. They insisted you MUST HAVE an appointment and the next available was Dec. 29, the day after our trip was over. I finally read one little travel blog that said, “If you’re lucky enough to live near a passport agency, and you don’t have an appointment, you might want to consider showing up and pleading your case.” Bingo.
Monday morning, Dec. 21, 7:00 a.m., my husband and our four kids headed to the airport, and I headed to the passport agency. When I arrived, another desperate soul was perched on the floor by the front door, and I parked beside her. Waiting. Praying. Trying not to be sick. I know that in the grand scheme of things, lots of people endure much more difficult and painful challenges in life. I’m just thankful God cares about the little things as well as the big.

At 8:00 the doors opened, I meekly relayed my story, delivered my documents, and nearly kissed the passport agent when I heard the magic words, “Okay, your passport will be ready for you to pick up at 2:00 today.” Wahoo!!!
The next day I flew to Mexico, freshly printed passport in hand, and joined my family. We celebrated the miracle of instant passports in today’s high security world, and I thanked God for my girlfriends who prayed and supported me through this stressful, near-disaster Christmas, passport fiasco.