The new year is now nine weeks old. I have been in India the past five weeks, and soon on my way to Kathmandu, Nepal. It has been so good to return again to the nation I first came to almost 43 years ago. I was 23 then. Because of my love for India and South Asia, there is a certain freshness that I always feel coming here. But this year was different.

My wife and I had been in India a few months ago, in October. We left the USA in the final weeks of another Presidential election. Now in January that election was over, and Donald Trump had come back to power. In fact, I left the USA on Jan. 20th, the very day of his inauguration. Frankly I still couldn’t believe he had won, and felt like I would wake up from a bad dream. (yes, you guessed right, I’m not a Trump supporter politically.)

As I traveled through Bangkok on my way to India, I saw this sign in the airport. It read: ‘A New Freshness for 2025 is Coming!’ That certainly did not match my feelings that day! Nine weeks later, I still have days when I think the Trump nightmare will end. Though of course I have many friends that feel quite differently. It has helped for me to be outside the USA, and investing in a younger generation in India and Nepal. Tomorrow I will arrive in Kathmandu to lead a School of Redemptive History over the next six weeks. That will occupy my attention considerably away from USA politics.

But here’s the question that has also occupied my mind these past few weeks. What brings freshness to your life, especially in difficult times or seasons? We all have those seasons, when personal or family or national struggles happen. Freshness comes often from inside of us, rather from outside circumstances. What is bringing freshness to you so far in these first nine weeks of 2025? It most likely isn’t politics for most of us. Even if your candidate of choice won a recent election in your nation, many things can still get us down.

For me, freshness of spirit and soul comes from focusing on a larger and more expansive life. Sometimes for me it is reading a novel based in another nation. I learn about the lives of others very different than me. And it takes my focus off of the problems of today and brings a fresh perspective. Also many of you know how much I love history. When I am struggling with something, I actually will read history books. I know, that’s nerdy. But for me, true. Why is this? It takes me into a larger frame of time. In this larger frame, we can often say about the struggles around us: this too, will pass.

I also love to go outside into creation when possible. I am about to see again the gorgeous mountains of Nepal, which are always a fresh tonic to my soul. And there are times when we are in the rugged wilderness or arid desert, and we gain perspective again.

These last few weeks were a time of freshness for me. I had the opportunity to be with almost 50 Indian and Nepali leaders. They were mostly in their 30’s and had great questions about life and leadership. Spending time with them felt so fresh, so real. Giving away whatever I had learned, including my mistakes and failures. Sometimes freshness comes in our lives by listening to others, and hearing a different perspective on life.

What is bringing freshness to you so far in 2025?