Proud to call her, “Mom!”

I am still glowing after spending an afternoon with my mother-in-law and some Rowell relatives. Bob and I had thought that we would be unable to attend a small gathering to celebrate Mom’s 93rd birthday. Our plans changed, so Bob and I decided early Saturday to drive a few hours away and meet and surprise the others for lunch. This dear family treated us like celebrities. They welcomed us over and over and laughed and told us how happy they were to see us. It was a genuine, warm, happy welcome.

Mom Rowell is my friend. She listens and laughs. She empathizes and prays for me. I am not aware of her ever holding a grudge against anyone. I have given her plenty of reasons to be disgusted at me through the years but she just keeps on loving me. She is a servant and a delight. She is gracious and beautiful. I am so very proud of her. She is wise and knowledgeable. She is sweet. She is kind. She is godly.

While celebrating Mom’s birthday, my brother-in-law—Paul, showed me a paper where she listed her children. She named each one. My husband, her son, died 20 years ago so I remind myself that I am an “outlaw,” with a smile of course—Mom never made me feel that way. I call Bob—my second husband, “A Rowell Outlaw Once Removed.” There listed on her paper with her children was my name. It said, “My daughter, Brenda Rowell McDonell. . .” She could just as easily have written, “my daughter-in-law . . .” I realize that in the interest of clarity it is necessary to have modifiers that explain relationships such as “step,” “half,” “in-law,” and “adopted.” It just makes me glad that Mom doesn’t see it as important.

Is it any wonder that she is loved by so many people?

Her children arise and call her blessed! Proverbs 31:28