The Ugly Duckling

And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. Genesis 29:16-17

Have you ever been the victim of rejection? Have you ever been a contestant in a game of favorites and lost? If anyone knew the pain of rejection, it was Leah. She was treated differently because she was not as attractive as her sister. Ouch! Can you imagine how much Leah must have hurt knowing that she was not loved as much because of her looks? Rejection is painful!

Maybe you've never faced that kind of rejection. Perhaps your rejection is of a different sort. Could it be that you were fired from a job because "the other guy" was a suck-up? Maybe you've eaten your lunch alone because you weren't popular enough to eat with the "in crowd." Perhaps your loved on walked out on you because he found "someone better." At some point in our lives we have all faced rejection.

Right now, I have a folder in my filing cabinet labeled "Rejections." In the writing world, rejections are just a part of life. My folder is full of letters saying, "Thank you for sending us your manuscript. We regret that we cannot use it at this time. . ." It hurts. Every time I get one of those letters a little part of my excitement for writing dies. Rejection is painful!

The good news is that God knows all about our rejection. He knows how much we hurt. He knows all about our heavy hearts. He knows, and He cares. If you'll read on in chapter 29 of Genesis, you'll see how God dealt with Leah's rejection.

And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. . .And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. Genesis 29:31,35

Not only did the Lord give Leah children, He gave her Judah, the child that would be the start of the line of Christ. What a gift! True, Leah may have been rejected by her family and friends, but she was never rejected by God.

The same can be said for us. Many times it seems like we don't have a friend to stand with us. At times, we can be brought so low that we wonder if anyone really cares. Well, I'm here to remind each of us that God does care. He will never reject us! After all, we were ugly in our trespasses and sin, yet He still sent His only Son to die for us. Now that's acceptance!

*****Excerpt from Random Ramblings of a Raving Redhead by Dana Rongione*****