January 30th. The first month of the new year is almost completed. In some ways the new year still feels fresh; in other ways it feels like it’s been around for a while. Old habits die hard and it’s a struggle to stick with the changes I want to make in order to live better this year than I did last year. But I’m not giving up!

This month has been one of adventure. We made our first major trip as a family of six all the way to HI. Getting there we traveled for 36 hours but that was easier than the shorter trip coming home! We were on the island for a fast week and didn’t get to visit all the places we wanted to, eat the yummy food we hoped to or see all the loved ones we miss, but it was a blessing to reconnect with beloved family and make lasting bonds between them and our kids.

As we journeyed home through different airports, planes and cities, our kids kept asking if we were in HI or in the new state we call home. From their young perspective it is difficult to grasp how you can be in one place at one moment and then in the next be some place entirely different. And then I realized that my heart and mind haven’t entirely grasped that concept either. At times I think I’ll step outside my front door and be able to wave at my nephew and nieces or that I can hop in the car and drive to my parents’ for a swim. The distance hurts and the stretching of one’s heart is a painful process.

In her book Cultivate, Lara Casey reminds us that good things come out of hard things. While visiting Hawaii I was encouraged by how my world had expanded in less than two years! Many new names and faces have been added to my list of loved ones; delightful experiences have been added to my memory bank; and my perspective on life has broadened as I learn to look outside myself so that I can better understand the people around me.

As we all cozy up indoors during this nationwide cold snap, let’s take a moment to think about all the people we are connected to around the world. What have you learned from them? How have they inspired you? Is there something you can do in the month ahead to make the world a brighter place? Our bodies might be limited to one physical location but our hearts can be spread out here and there.