Lord willin

If you ever met my Nana and spent any length of time talking to her, odds are you would have heard that phrase at least once. I always just thought it was a cute Southern way of saying "Maybe". I'd say "I'll see you for dinner". And her response was "Lord willin". But tonight I had a revelation, where most revelations happen for me... in the bathroom. I decided to begin reading James chapter 4 for next weeks small group discussion. I got all the way to verse 13-16 and BAM! God hit me upside the head (as He has been known to do) with a bit of wisdom from Nana. 

^"13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. "


All those years, Nana would always say "Lord willin" when making plans for dinner, or family functions or even making the next phone call to check on me. For so long I really paid it no attention, But tonight I realized the importance of those two words. It was more than a catch phrase for her. It was a verbal reminder to herself that her life was in God's hands. It was a daily submission to His will for her life. She knew that the One who created her, had ordained all the days of her life and she understood the importance of not allowing her own plans to interfere with that. 


Those two simple words that always flew right under my radar, tonight suddenly had new meaning. I had always known my Nana to be a firm believer in the Lord. I knew that she and Jesus were BFFs. I asked her once what the most important day of her life was, she without hesitation answered "The day I accepted Christ". But I never understood the discipline she had of humbling herself to His will and the dedication that takes. 


My Nana has since passed away. And I haven't been able to hear her say that in over a year. But here's the cool part. Her life left an imprint on mine. And now, even after she has gone home, she is still teaching me to be the woman God wants me to be. She lived her life as an example that I will forever be grateful for. God used her words to lay a seed in my heart that tonight began to bloom. All I had to do was turn to His word. His Living Water sparked growth in that seed she planted that lay dormant until now. She lives on in my memories and Lord willin I will see her again!