“Wait! There are only four here! Where is the fifth one?” exclaimed our daughter as our car approached the Canadian border post.

Border crossings are stressful anywhere, and the US/Canadian border has become increasingly so. Now here we were within minutes of the border, and one of our passports was missing.

“Check and see whose it is,” Don suggested.

As she quickly arranged the four passports in order of age, it was immediately apparent that the missing passport belonged to Jace, her youngest. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “When I brought them up here once without their father, the guards gave me trouble for not having a letter of permission from him. What will they do if we don’t even have his passport?” She was nearly in tears envisioning the eight-hour trip back without accomplishing the pressing task for which we had come.

We all were silent as we pulled into the waiting line for the crossing. “Janella, will you please pray?” Don asked. And of course I did. Then we all silently waited our turn to cross.

“Documents please, the guard said as he held out his hand. Don handed him six passports in order of age from oldest to youngest. The guard shuffled through them. “How many on board today?” he asked.

“Seven,” we responded. “The passport for the youngest got left at home.”

“Hmmm,” mused the guard, before proceeding with the other normal questions. “Any vegetables or fruits on board? Any alcohol or tobacco? What is the purpose of your visit? How many days do you plan to be in Canada? What are you hauling in the trailer?”

At last, after an extended pause, he handed back the six passports as we all held our breath. “Go ahead, but you better try to get at least a photocopy of his passport before you head back to the U.S.”

“Thank you, sir! We will do that,” we replied as we pulled forward into Canada.

“Wow! That was a miracle!” exclaimed our son-in-law.

“Yes,” we agreed. “That is what we asked for. Now let’s say thanks.”

Gratefully we bowed our heads and thanked the One who sees our extremity and cares for us in spite of our mistakes.

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