Lord Willing

“Lord Willing”

            I remember laughing at my mother because, almost anything you would ask her or any statement she made, she would say, “Lord Willing”. I understood of course what she meant by that and agreed with the implications it meant, however, I felt it was unnecessary and repetitive. I guess I just have to add this point to the long list of things I have discovered to be true that I used to mock her about. The same things, that after maturing and gaining more spiritual wisdom, I realized she wasn’t nearly as stupid as I thought she was when I was young.

            We make our plans and say things like, I’m going to do this or that. We have short-range plans and goals and long-range as well. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with planning, we base our plans on our capabilities, resources, health, and current and projected circumstances. But as I have just learned a valuable lesson in this area, I want to share it with you.

            We are having the interior of our home painted, and as you well know, everything has to be taken down, torn apart, and moved. Since we are doing almost the whole house, you might imagine the mess that creates. Right in the middle of all this, I was being careless, and pulled a muscle in my back, and it pretty much has stopped me in my tracks. I consider myself a pretty tough ole bird, but I learned the hard way, that I don’t care how much you may want to do something or need to do something, your body can shut you down in an instant.

            We make all these well-laid plans and with one phone call, one slip in the tub, or any one of a million different things go wrong, we are shut down. Thus, I see the value in my mother’s practice of saying, “Lord Willing.” That was her way of reminding herself and others how dependent we are on God. People have become so prideful, I want to throw up when I hear someone boast about how everything they ever got they got it on their own, and no one ever helped them or gave them a thing. All that tells me is they haven’t appreciated or maybe seen what God and others have done. No matter how strong or how bad we think ourselves to be, we are only an instant away from being helplessly bedridden or in the grave at any given moment. I applaud strong independent people who try to take care of themselves and not depend on others to do things they can do for themselves, but no one ever lived, who doesn’t need help.

            And that brings me to another point, if you are fortunate enough to have good health, financial success, and other good things in your life, don’t forget those less fortunate. Yes, there are lazy bums who wouldn’t lift their finger as long as someone else will do it for them, but there are a lot of good people who are down on their luck or stricken with health issues, who could use a helping hand. Charity and compassion won’t take away what you have, it will only bring more and better things into your life. And that shouldn’t be the reason we should show kindness expecting a return for it, but you will always receive compensation in one form or another for a kind act. Read Mathew 6:3. Some put it as,” What goes around comes around.”

            Another thing this experience has opened my eyes to is, that if you are a caregiver for someone else, remember that feeling of helplessness I described when I looked around the house and saw all that needed to be done, and couldn’t do a thing about it. Well, I’m quite sure, it is the same for them. You must be careful not to forget their self-esteem and dignity because they experience that same helplessness daily. We need to remind them of their self-worth and how no matter their condition, they still play important roles in the lives of others. And remind them that God still has a purpose for them, or they wouldn’t still be here.

            Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 Talks about casting our bread upon the waters. God determines the works he wants us to do. And his reasoning and purposes are beyond our understanding. Therefore, the best we can do is accept our realities and try to be good stewards of our situations. We must do our best not to be blindsided by uncertainty or paralyzed with self-pity and doubt. He also warns us against investing all our time, energy, and emotions into things that ultimately have no lasting significance or meaning. Or as Mom would say, “ It’s OK to make your plans, but never exclude God from being part of that plan.”