For years as a child, when it was time for bed my mom would say to us, ” Goodnight, I love you. Hope I see you in the morning, if thegoodlaudwillinit!” And our response to her was the same. Of course at 7 and 10 years old, I’m not sure if either my brother or I actually knew what in the world she meant or was actually saying for that matter.
GOODLAUDWILLINIT!
Yeah…that’s just how foreign the phrase sounded. Well, maybe my brother got it, but I know that I didn’t get it until years later. And it was not so much that I didn’t get what was actually said…though that was pretty fuzzy too…it was that I didn’t understand why she would say, “Good night, I love you. I hope I see you in the morning, if it’s the Good Lord’s will.”
Now my mom grew up in the city of Memphis and has an degree in Education so I’m sure that Southern Twang was strictly something passed on from other generations. Nonetheless, what she meant was far more profound that I realized at the time that I spouted the same words she’d said just because I’d heard her say them.
In James 5:13-15, James warns us to ensure that we acknowledge God’s will before we make our own plans. Now this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t make plans at all, but simply that we realize God’s Sovereignty in any decision we make. After considering all the plans that I’ve made and that have literally fizzled in my face within the last few months, I’m glad I was reminded of this little tradition from my childhood because it’s helping me appreciate God’s will in it.
Better Not Bitter 
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