The final chapter of Proverbs graces us with a portrait of an excellent woman: “more precious than jewels,” “with willing hands,” rising “while it is yet night,” clothed in strength and dignity, teaching kindness.
My host mother gives life to these virtues. She welcomed me into her home as another daughter–an invitation as kind as it must be familiar for her. Eva cares for four children at once most days: a daughter, a granddaughter, and two twin boys.
Her daughter is six years old, and her granddaughter is seven. “SamKele was a surprise,” I remarked to her older brother, a twenty-five year old college student.
“I’d say that’s an understatement,” he chuckled.
Eva calls it a blessing. “More than twenty years–and God gave us a daughter!” The name “SamKele” means “We accept.”
