The Story of a Prayer

I don’t claim to understand prayer. I just know God encourages believers to pray. I know there are a couple of Bible verses that seem to say “we’ll get whatever we ask for” or “if you have faith…” but my experience suggests that I have limited insight into the complete meaning of such segments. I have no doubt that God hears and chooses to act according to my petitions, but He is not a genie in a bottle and I don’t have enough “positive vibes” to generate whatever results I want at the moment. There some concerns I have brought to Him for years, but still see no obvious answer. There are some things that I can personally tell He is working with in my life, but it would be harder to explain to another person. Some prayers have received bitterly disappointing answers. The world simply isn’t going to become a perfect place because I ask for it.
Then there are the beautiful times when a prayer is obviously and positively answered. This story is about such a prayer. It was unlikely and unsupported by the people involved. Why I would even want to think of praying for such a thing is a little strange. I asked for a non-crucial adventure.
I have been struggling to learn Mandarin Chinese for almost three years now. I say “struggling” because it seems painfully slow. I do not have the energy, elastic mind, or time availability of a young student. And yet, I plod along, refusing to give up what little ground I gained when I began during our eight months of living in Taipei. Every once in a while, I lay this apparently insane pursuit before my God, explaining at I “just want to do it” and would He help?
It was natural to dream of returning to Taiwan, but I am no jet-setter. Sure, my husband traveled for business occasionally, but a even a business trip to Taiwan was extremely far-fetched, he told me. Then, about a year ago, it occurred to me to seriously ask God for a trip back to Taiwan.
I only mentioned this fanciful prayer to a couple of friends, and that briefly and without emphasis. I didn’t even bring it up to God on a frequent basis, but when I did it was heart felt. I knew there was no practical excuse for such a trip. After that, it was on to the life at hand.
The first indication that something really might happen came about seven months ago, but I dared not really get my hopes up. For one thing, my dear hubby was quite unexcited about the idea. Even when I hesitantly admitted to him I had been praying about it. He just wanted to move on to other things. I quickly dropped the subject. I did keep praying humbly about it, but with the temerity to mention how such plan would work best with the gardening schedule!
When he came home two weeks ago with news of the real possibility of me accompanying him on a business trip that encompassed both Shanghai and Taiwan, I was both thrilled and cautious. I knew of the obstacles, such as quickly getting a visa and finding tickets at an acceptable price. Yet, today, here I sit on a huge aircraft flying over the arctic circle, well on my way to China. The timing is very convenient for my garden. Plus, I’ve already had the pleasure of practicing my Chinese with two friendly young men returning to their homes in China.
I can offer no explanation as to why this frivolous request has been granted, other than God simply thinks it is fun to give good gifts to His children. It was, after all, my 50th birthday just a few days ago.