Guaranteed Future?

And now I have a word for you who brashly announce,

"Today--at the latest, tomorrow--we're off to such and such

a city for the year; we're going to start a business and make

a lot of money."  You don't know the first thing about

tomorrow.  You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief

bit of sun before disappearing.  Instead, make it a habit to say,

"If the Master will it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that.

James 4:13-15

My father was not a practicing Christian, per se, but Dad was a very good man with little education, but a lot of back-alley wisdom.  He had a whole raft of proverbs and sayings that peppered his speech - a habit that he passed on to his kids.  When he announced that he personally, or we as a family, were going to do this, or go there, or do that, he would always end it by saying, "God willing and the creek don't rise."  I heard Grandma say it often enough that I am fairly certain he learned it from her.  

This coming July, I will have my 5th anniversary of my surgery for uterine cancer.  I am almost five years out, and every time I go in for my appointments, my oncologist reassures me that the cancer is long gone.  I know that her assurances are based on her vast knowledge of cancers in general and my tumor in particular, but the fact is, a cancer-free future is not guaranteed to me or any other survivor.  Cancer is a funny thing and definitely has a mind of its own.  I face my future - immediate and long-range - with great hope and a healthy respect for my adversary.  There is still a great deal that I want to do with my life - God willing, and the creek don't rise!