to wait. Rachel would become his wife in a week( happy honeymoon, Leah!), but he would stay on for the remainder of the years he owed. Life got awkward as Rachel and Leah settled in with Jacob, and an interesting pattern emerged: Even though Rachel was the one Jacob loved, she wasn’ t able to have a baby. She was beautiful and favored, but she was infertile and therefore considered less-than.
For years, Rachel watched Leah deliver babies while her womb remained empty. At one point she even made a subtle suggestion to her hubby:“ Give me children or I will die.” Sweet gal.
Not only is she devastated that she can’ t provide a child for her husband, she is living alongside her sister and her seven children. Not only is it“ I can’ t have children,” but even worse,“ I can’ t have children, but she can.”
But she can.
And there it is: the three words that run through your mind countless times a day. So many times, in fact, that it keeps you from thinking of the things you do have.
What’ s heartbreaking about Rachel and Leah’ s story is that they were both trapped in a comparison prison of their own making, each focusing so intently on what the other had that they couldn’ t appreciate their own blessings. Rachel had Jacob’ s love— the thing almost every woman in that culture desperately wanted— but she couldn’ t enjoy it because she was consumed by Leah’ s fertility. Leah had children— the ultimate blessing and security for women in that time— but she couldn’ t celebrate them because she was desperate for Jacob’ s affection.
Each sister was living with a constant reminder of what she lacked. Every time Rachel saw Leah’ s children, it was evidence that she was failing at the most fundamental aspect of womanhood. Every time Leah saw Jacob’ s tenderness toward Rachel, it confirmed her worst fear: that she was unlovable. They were stuck in the same house, raising children together, sharing a husband, but unable to find contentment because they were measuring their worth against each other instead of recognizing their own unique gifts.
" This is exactly what comparison does to us: It blinds us to our blessings by keeping our eyes fixed on someone else’ s. "
This is exactly what comparison does to us: It blinds us to our blessings by keeping our eyes fixed on someone else’ s. Rachel couldn’ t see that being deeply loved was a rare and beautiful gift because she was too busy staring at Leah’ s children. Leah couldn’ t celebrate the miracle of life growing in her womb because she was too focused on the love that seemed reserved for her sister.
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