We all know the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge…the antagonist in the novella, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. He was a greedy, hard, bitter man. It was only after his encounter with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future that he had a complete change of heart. The encounter changed him forever.

As Dickens writes at the end, “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.”

I will soon add another year to my chronological age. Another reason why the holidays hold less of an attraction. Merry Christmas AND Happy Birthday GEEZER!

But I take solace and encouragement from Dickens’ character: We can continue to grow. As someone told me the other day…’it’s never too late to be the person you wanted to be.’

Here’s the question…who is that person for you? Who IS it you wanted to be? If you haven’t gotten there yet…it’s not too late.

Start here: take out your smart phone or a piece of paper and jot down character traits you want to be true of you now, at this place in your life. Mine included truthfulness, wisdom, and compassion. Start here…make your own list.

And then…look at the list everyday. Philippians 4:8 frames it like this: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Here’s what I know…no one ever DRIFTED into greatness. Wanna be THAT person? Start with a clear vision and regular effort. Make the list. Look at it everyday. And ask yourself…are these actual or aspirational? Are they real or are they still out there to be gained.

Be sure to mix in lots of grace for yourself. Real growth takes more than one night and three ghosts!