Lord willing and the creek don't rise....

Posted by Terry McNichols

Just a couple of days before we left for El Salvador, I was asked if the earthquake in Costa Rica would impact our travel. I made the comment that we would carry on, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise!" This was a new saying to my listening friend, and I started thinking about where I picked it up. I learned this statement about God's sovereignty from my mother, who surely heard her own mother and grandmother all use the expression. And now I find that it slides past the weak filter in my conscious mind and pops out quite often.

I did a Google search to try to find the source of this expression and was surprised to learn that there is a bit of controversy as to its origin. Some seem to think that the reference to "Creek," which is often capitalized, is a reference to Indians who might "rise" and attack. Others claim that the expression often used the word "crick" or "river," thus negating the possibility of a reference to Indians.

Whatever the source, I was particularly surprised and tickled to find a song by that title on my recently purchased Dave Irish CD. Dave must have also had a godly mother or grandmother in his past. Now I have a tune running through my head whenever I think of the expression.

But the truth? We are not in control and no matter how much we try to order our lives, the creek may indeed rise (as it did so dramatically in Western Washington in January). And the Lord must be willing. I may make profound statements of purpose, but there is a fragility in my own intricate plotting. I intend to carry on with the plans at hand, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise!"
(Photos by McBeth and Leo Reynolds, shared via Flickr)