“Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.” (Genesis 29:16-17, English Standard Version)

"Jacob lived with Rachel [as his wife], and he loved Rachel more than Leah." (Genesis 29:30 AMP)

When hearing the story of Jacob and Rachel, I've usually looked at it as Rachel being the main focus or character of the story. Because Rachel is the one Jacob worked for when he was given Leah instead, Leah may be overlooked sometimes. While reading the story again I felt I related more to her.

I know many, if not all of us, have felt rejection at least once.

In my experience, getting to a certain age and never being in a relationship before, it can be so easy to give in to the thoughts that say I am unwanted, not good enough or not as beautiful as someone else. But those thoughts are not from God, they are put there by the enemy.

Rejection can be really damaging to us when we let it become that way, and sometimes we don't even realize it. But when we dwell on thoughts like that we are putting our value and identity into the hands of other people and not God's. Whatever we feel or believe about ourselves isn't who we are if it doesn't line up with what God's Word says.

“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you." (John 15:16, AMP)

What I love about Leah's story, is that God saw her. He saw she was unloved and she had favor with Him and was blessed with children, one of them being Judah who Jesus Christ is a descendant from. Leah probably felt rejected by her husband Jacob, but how others viewed her is not how God viewed her, nor did it stop the plan He had for her and her family.

I know rejection can hurt, but something I've learned is that when we truly care about someone we should want God's best for them. And just because it isn't you doesn't say anything at all about your worth. It just means you are God's best for someone else. His timing is different than ours, but His plan and purpose for us is greater than ours could ever be.