Author: Kate Franken I hung up the phone, after having received the results of my liver ultrasound. I felt strangely calm, despite the words the doctor had spoken. I dialed my mom. The minute she picked up, the calm dissipated and the tears formed. With a shaky voice, I relayed the call, “The calcifications they…
Category: Kate Franken
Motivations Made New
Author: Kate Franken As a new year approaches, dreams and ideals inundate my thoughts. I can easily get wrapped up in the New Year’s resolution mindset, hoping to make lasting changes. I know what the naysayers say. I’ve, at times, been one myself. Experience has taught me that adherence to resolutions is typically short-lived, but…
Victorious Rest
Author: Kate Franken Stress and Anxiety. The world is filled with them both, and they torment me. Stomach pain, tension headaches, and sleepless nights have all followed in their wake. They have weakened my immune system, making me more susceptible to colds and viruses, pneumonia, and even shingles. I never invited them in, and I…
Driving Free
Author: Kate Franken I couldn’t breathe. Every muscle tensed. My face turned hot and clammy. I could see myself driving off the bridge. I wanted to slam the brakes and runaway. And then, in my head, I saw all the cars hitting me from behind. I wrestled against what I felt, despite its intensity, and…
Friendship Takes Two
Author: Kate Franken There was a time when I rarely opened my Bible, never once did I read a book in its entirety. I would pray a stream of words that flowed from my mind and not my heart. With little understanding of what the words within my memorized prayers actually meant, I prayed to…
A Sense of Wonder
Author: Kate Franken Hours before walking across the stage to receive my high school diploma, my mother presented me with a heartfelt gift that I’ve treasured in the years since. While I sat on my floral bedspread in my downstairs bedroom, she walked in and put a CD into my black boom box. She let…
Embracing Vulnerable Beauty
Author: Kate Franken “Do you have children?” “Are you married?” I get that these are questions most women often ask as a cordial attempt to get acquainted. Their success rate in forging a connection amongst my female counterparts is high, but their ability to alienate someone in my current stage of life is just as…
Identity Crisis
Author: Kate Franken The words “identity crisis” generally evoke images of a pimple faced teenager and a middle aged silver-haired man that seeks comfort in adultery and a new red sports car. This worldly association leads one to believe that identity crisis is largely confined to two occurrences, once in adolescence and then again somewhere…
The New Page
Author: Kate Franken I was going through school to become a teacher, I remember expressing delight in having chosen a career in which I could embrace change each school year. Change was plausible, whether it be a change in students or a change in grade level. And now, in my tenth year of teaching, I detest September….
Anchored Voices 