Can you say Aufenthaltstitelverlängerung 3 times fast??

So, today marks the (hopefully) last time I had to apply for an Aufenthaltstitelverlängerung. What is that, you ask? Is it contagious? No, silly! An Aufenthaltstitelverlängerung is the German word for the renewal of my temporary residence permit. This means that next time I can apply for a 'Daueraufenthaltsbewilligung' which is more permanent and only requires renewal every FIVE years. :)
Now a little background info. Every year around our anniversary I have to get all my paperwork together and head down to the local authorities offices - which I've lovingly dubbed the foreigner's Mecca. There I pull a number, wait for what usually seems like ages until I can present myself and my stack of papers to a grumpy Austrian government official. The past several years I've gone by myself due to the limited opening hours and this has been a real struggle for me. I tend to get nervous, worrying that I've either forgotten to fill something out, bring all the correct documents or for some unforeseeable reason I will be denied my visa. And of course there's always that unstoppable flood of Bureacratese to catch you off guard and overwhelm even a native German speaker.
That being said, this time Thomas was able to join me and even though I still had some pre-meeting jitters I was much calmer and way less worried than ever before. Not sure if it was the part of Ephesians I read this morning or my recent prayers, but God really helped me by reminding me to be confident of my status before him. This was also the first time that I got a non-grumpy official (!!!) who actually seemed like she had empathy (!!!!) and who spoke clearly and at least tried to be patient!!!! Wow! She answered our questions so that we understood some of the new laws and regulations. All I have to do is bring 2 copies of a document when I come to pick up my visa in March! As we left I was overwhelmed by how well and how much God's provided for both me and Thomas - not just well-paying jobs and good education which allow me to have fewer problems with all the red tape, but also so much more. As a kind of celebration we stopped by one of favorite cafès on our way back home. We've got so much to be thankful for!