Becoming who you want to be

Let me pose a question to you all. How do we become the person that we want to be? As the new year has started, it's the time to think about what's ahead, to think about the changes that are coming, and also the changes that you want to make in your life. This usually leads to a list of 'resolutions'. Resolutions in this sense is defined (by dictionary.com) as 'the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action'. It's usually about what you want to change in your life for the coming year. I've never made a New Year's Resolution. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I don't think you need a new year to make you want to change something. Maybe it's because I know that I don't have the will power to stick to it. Maybe it's because it's a tradition and I really don't want to be stuck doing something that I don't want to do, just because everyone else is doing it. Maybe it's a combination of all of these things.

But my question is still relevent. How do we become the person that we want to be? We all have ideas about who that person is. Some of the things we want might be unrealistic, but what about those things that are realistic? I have this feeling that I'm not currently growing at all into this 'envisioned' person. But who is this 'person'- this 'ideal Hayley'? She's someone who puts Jesus at the centre of her life. That focuses on Him and who He is, what He's done and lives her life according to those things. I don't feel like I'm that person. I feel like I'm actually growing away. How do I change this?

There's so much talk these days about change coming from within. Flinding your own power to change. I think this is a load of crock. If I'm relying on my own power to change, I'm never going to change- at least not into the person I should be. Our human desires are to rebel against God- to grow away from Him and to put ourselves at the centre of our lives. This is the opposite to what I want. I want Him at the centre. I want to be the person He wants me to be. If I rely on my own strength to do this, it won't work. I can only do this through His power. This change is an important one, and something that needs to happen daily in my life.

What person do you see when you envision the 'ideal' you?