Prayer Prompts

Last time I was here, I talked about how a trip to Jordan brought a perspective change. I’d never been to the Middle East, and now I can’t wait to go back. I have something of wanderlust, where once I’ve been somewhere, I usually leave part of my heart there. As a result, as my plane is taking off, I often start asking God when I can return.

This started many moons ago, when my heart cried to give my kids the opportunity to experience living overseas. The reason was that my husband spent seven years growing up in the Far East. It was a life-altering experience for him, one I didn’t have, but that I value highly.

So I started asking God if it was something He would give us. I’d had a quick two-week trip to Europe as a graduation present, but other than that, I hadn’t been out of the States much at that time.

Then I started teaching at Purdue, and my immediate supervisor started easing me with the opportunity of teaching in Germany for a summer. I kept telling him we were willing, and then in 2012 we got to do it. It was an amazing trip…but as you can kind of see from the photo above, our youngest kids were 4 years and 18 months. It was this incredible time where we got to live in country for two months, travel and stay in people’s homes on several weekends, and the kids got amazing time with their Dad.

We came back, and I started asking if we could do it again when our youngest would be old enough to remember more than the photos.

It seemed selfish.

God had already done it once.

But really longed to have an experience where all of us would be able to sit around the table at future Christmases and share the memories.

Then two summers ago, God did it again. This time we had a month with undergrads in Siena. Our youngest was now five, and it was an experience we could all sink into. It was truly amazing. Last summer I was in Florence with my husband and a group of undergrads. This summer it will be Rome.

So why did I title this prayer prompts?

I keep a 5 Euro bill in my nightstand drawer. Each time I open it, the bill reminds me to ask God if He’ll open the door again. I keep the Euro coin (and now a Jordanian coin) in my wallet’s coin compartment, again as a reminder to ask God if He’ll do it again.

He doesn’t have to, but we serve a God who is a Father who likes to give good gifts.

What’s the cry of your heart? The dream that feels to daring to whisper out loud? Do you have a prayer prompt? If not, consider getting one, and then ask until God tells you it’s time to dream in another direction.

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Cara Putman

An award-winning author of more than 40 books, Cara is a Clinical Associate Professor in business law and ehtics to graduate and undergraduate students at Purdue University. She lives with her husband, four children, a perfect cat, and a sweet yet rambunctious shelter puppy in Indiana.

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