MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!

So,  you all know we went to Houston on December 8 to apply for our visas which we must have if we want to stay in France more than 90 days.  Since then,  we've been waiting to receive them in the prepaid , self-addressed envelope (with our return address) left with the consulate as they requested.  All we read and hear is how slow the French are so we haven't worried about it.

Finally, this week we began to consider following up on the visas since we are now six weeks from departure!  Our contact at the consulate gave us the good news our visas had been approved (yay!!!) and mailed....DECEMBER 11!!!!!!!!  What?????!!!!!  And it is now January 15 (the day David contacted her).  Where are our visas?????????

With a copy of said envelope showing tracking numbers, David got online and found the number to be "undeliverable"!!!!  Needless, there was "weeping and gnashing of teeth" all over the place!!!!  And a few French words too!!!  After several days and countless phone calls and emails, we decided to take matters into our own hands.  My daddy always said "if you want something done right, do it yourself".  That may not always be true but it's usually worked for me!!

Friday we went to our local post office, went to the little door to the side of the associates selling stamps etc., and told our problem to Sylvia.  Because we'd been told it was probably in Dead Mail (wherever that is!!!!), we weren't even sure we could find it.  Oh, I forgot to mention this envelope was "for signature" too so couldn't just be dropped in our box.

When Sylvia went to see what she could find, David and I stood sharing the typical "how could this happen", "someone didn't do his job very well", and even "this is all going to be okay-God's got it".  In our relationship, I have typically been the more "realistic" one and David the more "it'll happen" one.  However, I believe in a God of miracles (so does David!!) and I said to David "what I'd love to see happen is Sylvia come out holding our envelope with our visas-wouldn't that be a great surprise?"
A few minutes later, the little door opened, Sylvia walked out with a big smile on her face and handed us the envelope containing our visas!!!!!!!  You have never seen two happier people...we were doing the happy dance (sorry, no pic of that!!!!)!!!!  The other "I can't believe I have to wait in line this long" people probably thought we were nuts.  But we felt as though we'd won the lottery!  I told David later I imagine it even made Sylvia's day..how often at the Post Office do you get to give someone such good news?

Who would have thought this could bring such joy??!!

Now we can go to Paris!  Such a small thing but it brought us such great joy!  Maybe that's always true...we just forget to be aware and look and notice the small things.  And miracles do still happen...