Names are important to most of us. Throughout the years, though, we have had incredible trouble getting a birth certificate for Janet and a passport decades ago when we first started to travel. The story gets pretty strange. That’s because Janet’s parents didn’t really know what they wanted to name her when she was born at Passavant Hospital in Chicago. So, she was named “Baby Girl” Boyd. Several days later, it was determined that her name would be Judith… So another birth certificate was filed with Cook County and time moved on…
Except, there was another change and her parents finally settled on Janet as her first name. By this time, the birth certificate was filed and, apparently, nobody bothered to alter the now filed “Certificate of Live Birth.” Somehow, when we went to get our marriage license in Cook County, we brought Janet’s baptism record from the church that we had attended since birth, and that was acceptable to the county. We were issued a marriage license and were married in the same church my parents had been married in years earlier.
We never gave it another thought – until we tried to get passports. It was not to be. There was no record of Janet Lynn Boyd ever existing. Even though she changed whatever paperwork she could after our marriage, we could not secure a passport for Janet. We ended up jumping through all kinds of hoops, including once again presenting her baptism certificate as well as personal testimonies from people who had known her since before she was baptized. Finally, they allowed modifications to “Judith’s” birth certificate – struck out the name Judith, and inserted Janet in the space provided for first names.
Since then, we have sailed right along for more than 50 years… We have renewed passports, Global Entry security cards (think TSA), driver licenses and just about any other possible identification cards for voting, traveling, etc.
I never gave much thought to what some people go through who can’t validate who they are in the world. I am especially sensitive to women who get married and take their husband’s name, or go through a divorce and decide to change their name as part of the negotiation. My eyes were really opened after the fiasco getting Janet’s identity established. After all, I have never had a problem like that…
Well, I spoke too soon. Now, for the first time in my life, I have a similar problem. And it doesn’t have to do with a name… It has to do with a space. Yep, a space… You see, my middle name is LaRue. Our family has long held a tradition of using the mother’s maiden name as the eldest child’s middle name. Since Mom was Louise LaRue, I was given LaRue as a way to continue the generational tradition. I always loved the name and we have continued the tradition with the next generation. Our second daughter, Jill, carries her maternal grandmother’s maiden name – she also has LaRue as a middle name.
Several months ago, Janet and I were notified to renew our passports. We were fortunate to be able to do this online and I was surprised at how easy it was. Several weeks later, Janet and I received our new passports, good for 10 years, and I was informed I had to update our Global Entry passes with the new passport information. Janet’s update went right through, instantly in fact, but mine was not accepted. In fact, I was told that I had to schedule a visit to a Global Entry Enrollment Center. These are the places where appointments are months, if not several years, out.
You know the issue? My passport and driver’s license show my name in all capital letters – with a space between the syllables – “LA RUE.” But not Global Entry… It doesn’t show the space – “LARUE.” So my passport and driver’s license don’t match my Global Entry name… go figure. I’ve tried everything to get around the issue. Can I modify the name on my Trusted Traveler ID? Nope… And it won’t help to change my DL number or passport – they aren’t the issue. In fact, that would be a nightmare to try and do. I just have one of those unusual names with two capital letters in my middle name. I guess computers don’t like that… so they broke it down into two names. And therein lies the dilemma.
Janet doesn’t think that in the scheme of things it is a big deal. After all, she has been through much worse. But it has bothered me more than I like to admit. I don’t even know technically which name is correct. So now I am descending into the rabbit hole to finalize the way that I will be known for the rest of my natural life.
This whole thing should never have happened. And I can bore you with all kinds of explanations as to how mistakes were made by government agencies, but it wouldn’t do any good. We are here…
I’m sure that you realize that I went to look for verses that had to do with God knowing our names. So our verse for tonight highlights the fact that God created us and knows each of us by name. That’s how intimate our relationship with God is. I have chosen a verse from the prophet Isaiah. This Old Testament prophet tells us, in Isaiah 43:1, “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
My encouragement this evening is that even if you can’t prove who you are on earth, God knows. And that’s just fine with me. My prayer is that the one who created us will always be our greatest supporter. But here on earth, I will still have to travel to a Global Entry Enrollment Center. Stay tuned for Part 2 as the story continues! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…