Lord willing and the creek don't rise

The phrase is a modern extension of the ancient religious formula *God willing* or *Lord willing*, expressions of pious submission to divine providence. It appends a secondary, secular condition to the primary theological one: that the traveler should not only be permitted by God to proceed but also be physically capable of crossing the landscape.

The reference to the creek is a matter of practical geography, alluding to the tendency of small watercourses to flood after heavy rain and render travel impossible. While the term is occasionally re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe, the phrase in its standard form records the humble inconveniences of 19th-century infrastructure. One might receive the blessing of the Lord to attend a meeting, only to find the local geography has other plans.