Skip to main content

31Days to Keep a Tender Heart: October 10

 
I’m preparing to speak on gratitude this weekend, so I thought that I would take the next few days to write some of what I am thinking and preparing.
Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she named him Judah Then she stopped bearing. Genesis 29: 31-35
I wonder what it was like to be Leah. She shared a husband with her sister and she was unloved by him. To me, this would be a terrible, unbearable situation. The LORD begins to bless Leah with sons. The way that she names them suggests to me that she was suffering profoundly and had become completely focused on earning her husband’s love as a way out of her misery. With each one, I hear hope in Leah’s voice. Maybe with this child, my husband will love me. Maybe the birth of this son will give me what I desire.
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3
I wonder if it was hard for Leah to receive her gift of children from the LORD because of her deep hurt from her husband’s rejection and her unfulfilled longing to be loved. I know that I often have a hard time celebrating God’s gifts to me when I am preoccupied by what He has not given me. It must have been miserable for her to see Jacob’s love for her sister Rachel on a daily basis. I can only imagine how hard it would have been for Leah to intentionally choose to praise God despite her painful circumstances. But, this is exactly what seems to happen with the birth of her fourth son.
“This time I will praise the LORD”, said Leah. Something significant must have shifted in Leah between Levi’s birth and Judah’s birth. She does not reference her husband or being unloved. She declares that she will praise the LORD. This is important in and of itself, but I think that it also reflects that she was finally able to receive her children as her gift from the LORD in that season.
I think that Leah is a good Biblical example of how to rejoice in the LORD in all things and how practicing gratitude can transform a person.
Still counting gifts:
·         #510: Blue skies and puffy white clouds
·         #511: Mike Bickle’s study of the book of Zechariah to start my day
·         #512: Discovering that Joel Rosenberg has a blog
·         #513: How God keeps inviting me into His deeper, secret work in the hearts of man    
·         #514: Sharing a glass of dry, red wine with my dad while we talk

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 weeks ago today

I got married three weeks ago today. I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding since that day. This was my first week back to work, which meant that I got to talk a lot about that day and show pictures, because everything is still fresh and new and people are anxious to know how it went. I have missed writing. Several times during our honeymoon, I almost grabbed my laptop because I had the urge to write. I never did, but I wanted to. I think that it felt too intimate to record in some ways. And, in others, I was just enjoying being lazy and carefree. I plan to write about what I remember from my wedding. (Maybe even some things from our honeymoon. We shall see…) I don’t know what I will share, but I want to make a record of my memories and experiences from that day. Just three weeks later, but the feelings are less vivid and the mental pictures are less crisp. Fortunately, our photographer did an amazing job and I am thankful that I have those images to remind me....
2 comments
Read more

Heart Revival

Hey you guys, It's been almost two years since my last post. What?! I know some of you probably forgot that I even used to do this, but I hope that you're as excited as I am that I'm coming back to blogging. It's a new season and God has been stirring up lots of creativity and courage in me recently. I'm happy to tell you all about it. In case you missed it, I became a mom to sweet Elias last summer. In fact, he is about to turn 1 year old on Monday and I can't believe it! Guys, he is absolutely the sweetest, calmest and most delightful baby you can ever imagine and I still tear up sometimes in gratitude when I remember that he is my little boy. One of my life dreams to be a stay-at-home mama has been partially fulfilled in that I only work three days a week during the school year. I work 2 1/2 days at RCS Elementary School and it is an amazing place. Shortly after I got there, they put me in charge of the two chapel services that happen each week. Gu...
1 comment
Read more
Dear Me at 16, First, take a deep breath and try to relax. You're not receiving this letter because you are bad or in trouble. To the contrary, I'm writing to you because I care about you and I know that it's hard for you to let others be caring toward you. You feel exposed and vulnerable, wondering if the person will stumble across all those imperfections that you work so hard to hide. You feel afraid of how they might judge you if they knew how needy, fragile and broken you actually are behind your put-together facade. I want to let you know that it's not your fault that you are this way. At least, it's not entirely your fault. Your desire to encourage and help other people is a wonderful, God-given part of your personality that influences you to put yourself in the position of helper. And this is an important part of how God has made you because it relates to the high calling that He has placed on your life to partner with Him in restoring people. Being t...
Post a Comment
Read more