It’s really nice having my Mom.

Maybe that’s over-simplifying things, but I wonder how many people can really say that. How many can actually say that life is easier, more secure, and generally more enjoyable because of their Moms? I only ask that because I realize my sister and I might be a minority and I’m thankful. My Mom makes life better.

My grandparents tell me that when Donna Kent came into the world July 14, 19** in Andrews, Texas, they were absolutely delighted. Meme once told me that when my Mom was born she thought: “Now I have what I’ve always wanted.” Mom was making life better even from day one. I love my Mom’s Texas history because it explains the hints of her subtle southern drawl and it’s full of romanticized stories of their sweet family moving to Tulsa and establishing roots in the town that I now call home.

It didn’t take long for my Mom to become an Okie. She met the original Okie, Frank Lester, at the University of Oklahoma in the late ’70s. She was a sophisticated sorority girl from the big city and he was an “everybody’s-friend” kind of farm boy from a small town. Or at least that what I’ve been told.

My Mom has often told me about how she fell in love with my Dad. It was simple, sweet, and just right. They met in pharmacy school and they ran around with the same group of friends. Over time she started admiring Dad’s character. He was funny, easy to be with, thoughtful, and an all around honest guy. It doesn’t sound like the romance of the century, but I’ve lived my own version and it’s the only way to do it. What I love about this story is that Mom chose right. She found the best man in my Dad and she’s loved him faithfully for over thirty years. That’s a real love story.

When I was a little girl, I remember thinking that my Mom was always right. Chalk it up to good parenting, but I seriously feared the woman. She expected us to do the right thing, but she didn’t have to nag us to do it. She expected with grace. One time I remember throwing some kind of fit on the phone and hanging up on her. She called me right back and gave instructions of what I was to have done before she got home from work. She also gently reminded me that I am not to hang up on her again. She would not even engage with my hysterics, just told me firmly that whatever had just happened better not happen again.

Ask me if I’ve ever hung up on her again.

She’s not just sophisticated, good-looking, and respectable. She’s smart, too. She’ll be humble about it, but she’s been a practicing pharmacist for years and is now an executive director for one of the largest insurance companies in the nation. I love that my Mom is an intelligent professional woman because she’s balanced about it. Mom doesn’t operate in extremes. She’s committed to doing her best at work and she’s committed to us. It’s just never been an issue. She can play sweet mother and no-nonsense executive. It works for her.

My Mom is a woman of God. I have vivid memories of walking in on her in prayer or finding her aged pink leather Bible lying around because she’d been studying. I recall some drive to somewhere when Mom was talking about Psalm 139 {You hem me in behind and before, You have laid Your hand upon me…} and she explained that, in her mind, she’d always imagined God hemming us in the way she used to place her hand on our stomachs and backs to guide use while we learned to walk. I can’t think of a more beautiful illustration of God holding us up so we don’t fall. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I really noticed all the subtle ways my Mom sought the Lord right in front of me. I realize now how easily life gets in the way of pursuing Him and how easily we can lose sight of His glory in the midst of the mundane. I realize how my Mom didn’t let those things interfere with her commitment to Him and I want to be that faithful.

I said this about my Dad on Father’s Day, but I’ll say it about my Mom, too. She makes trusting God easy. She makes understanding His abundant grace and lavish love not so unbelievable. I’m so thankful for that kind of legacy.

Happy Birthday Mom!