Straight Paths With Crooked Lines — Susanna VanVickle

Racing down a hill I travel daily, not realizing that my car was going almost as fast as my mind, I caught sight of police lights in my rearview mirror. What?! Not a ticket!…

Sitting by the stone hearth at La Madeleine restaurant, two friends and I vulnerably shared our thoughts over soup and salad. The three of us savor life updates, laughter, and counsel. We have many…

Picture this: I was soaking in the panorama of emerald mountain peaks framing the blue waters of Lake Amatitlán in Guatemala, where my friend and her groom were kicking off their wedding festivities with…

In March, I was blessed to go on a mission with my 81-year-old mother, my 14-year-old daughter, Marisa, and two other moms and their girls. We arrived in the stunningly beautiful Costa Rica and…

Two friends and I recently left the warmth of Texas to brave the snow and freezing temperatures of Kansas, where the three of us have sons at Benedictine College. The campus hosts a mother-son…

My son Anthony, who’s a senior in college majoring in accounting, recently told me, “I would’ve chosen to go to medical school if I didn’t think I had a short life expectancy.” His words…

Like many American homes in January, our household is working to change habits. We’ve decided to take on the challenge of purging our diets of sugar, gluten, and highly processed foods. At the moment,…

I grew up in a missionary family, and we were constantly moving. By the time I was in the fourth grade, we’d lived in six different countries. Moving around the world, experiencing new cultures,…

My oldest sons, twins Michael and Anthony, have Fabry disease. Their symptoms have been present since childhood, but back then, we didn’t know that Fabry was the culprit. The boys’ health…