Every spring I anticipated the white and lilac blossoms of my wisteria bursting from the branches. I was always surprised by their beauty. But for the last two years my plants...

When I was a teenager my father died, my university admission was unsuccessful, and I barely had enough food to eat. I was overwhelmed and struggled to pray. So I wrote...

I recall how excited my husband and I were when our sons took their first faltering steps as we led them by the hand. I also recall messy mealtimes as we...

One day I was walking down the street and passed a building site full of rubble. A sign at the site announced, “Work in progress.” The builders continued working according to...

I had always wanted to travel and see other places. I got my wish when I married a meteorologist whose career took us away from our families to the San Francisco...

For several years, I’ve led a prayer group for mothers in my home. We meet in the morning, Monday through Friday. One day, a friend asked me to accompany her to...

I often recall our eldest daughter’s deep emotional pain and disappointment when a group of adolescent girls rejected her. I suspect if one girl in the group had supported her, she...

Checking items off my daily to-do list used to give me a sense of accomplishment and control over my life. But when my 28-year marriage ended, I began to realize I...

I am the youngest of four children. In the rural part of Puerto Rico where we grew up, all types of fruit abounded in the fields of the country estates. We...

When my daughter, Summer, was four, I took her to a fine arts museum. We came to a multimedia landscape depicting a meadow of wildflowers on a windy day. Puffs of...