Good Intentions

                A dear friend and clergy colleague uses the word “intentions” rather than “resolutions”
to name the areas where she wants to better herself at the beginning of the year. Resolution does have a lot of guilt attached to it if we lose our resolve. Intentions are what we hope to do, perhaps will even strive to do. But the word seems to allow us to forgive ourselves when we falter or simply fall flat.

             Just nineteen days into the New Year, and my list of intentions has evaporated into one item: returning to a healthy eating pattern by keeping track of what I eat on the Weight Watchers website. I am doing pretty well, and my occasional overindulgences have not yet led to a complete surrender to old habits.

What has helped the most in keeping up this one “good intention” has been a decision to cut myself some slack. I am, after all, only human, and I will not be perfect.

God understands that we human beings will not be perfect. We will not always treat our neighbor as we would like to be treated. We will not always treat ourselves as God’s beloved children. We will repeat gossip; we will be annoyed with the slow-moving cashier; we will say an unkind word to our significant other or our children; we will not find time to connect with God. We will do all those things, and the God who loves us unconditionally will say: “I forgive you. I love you. You are my beloved and with you I am well pleased.”

And tomorrow, perhaps, we will write another list of intentions. And God will smile and say: “Well done, good and faithful servant. With you I am well-pleased.”