Have you set your New Year’s Resolutions yet? I think about them every year, but since my mother always told me not to make a promise I couldn’t keep, I don’t make a point of writing out or declaring resolutions each year.

While searching for a lesson for my Sunday school students on New Year’s Resolutions, I came across a list of resolutions on Youthworker.com from the late Erma Bombeck. One of them really hit home.

And just like last year…I am going to remember that my children need love the most when they deserve it the least.

Every morning, I get up and plan to be the best mother I can be. I plan to be patient and kind. I plan to listen more than speak. I want to remember that my children are who God created them to be, not who I think they should be.

Then, the first argument happens between the girls. That’s usually followed by some tween attitude from my strong-willed daughter. By noon, I couldn’t care a less about my plan. All I want to do is get through the day without having to clasp the bridge of my nose between my fingers and make an odd noise like Felix Unger from The Odd Couple. 

But when I read Bombeck’s last resolution, it reminded me of something my mother-in-law always says if she sees I’m irritated with the girls, “Don’t get angry with them. Hug them a little.” And it’s a reminder that this is what our relationship with God is like: He loves us, even when we don’t deserve it.

So perhaps, this year, I will declare one resolution: to try my best to follow God’s example and love my kids even when I feel they don’t deserve it, because that’s what God does for me.