Often I forget to be grateful for the things I take for granted. This morning at my home in Colorado it’s 15 degrees (F) outside, but I sit at my desk nice and toasty. I type on a fantastical machine and my internet blazes. When I’m hungry I’ll go to my kitchen and find plenty to eat.

None of this earns much thought, let alone gratitude. But all that I have comes from the hand of the Lord, and it does my soul good to remember these every day kindnesses.

Laban duped Jacob into marrying both his daughters. Jacob favored Rachel, his first love, over her sister Leah. But as life settled in, the Lord blessed Leah with children, while Rachel remained barren.

Leah named her first son Reuben, which means see, a son! Then came Simeon, meaning heard, since the Lord heard her in her place of disregard. Next arrived a third son, and since Leah felt this child would bond her husband to her, she named him Levi, or attached. Finally, a fourth son was born and Leah said, This time I will praise the Lord. She called his name Judah, or praise.

Four sons into a marriage of convenience. Leah saw the first three as means to show her worth, to draw Jacob toward her and away from her sister. But with Judah’s arrival, Leah realized that the blessings in her life came not from the ebb and flow of her husband’s attention, but from the hand of God.

The descendants of Judah formed a powerful clan. Kings David and Solomon were born into the tribe. Jesus is known as the Lion of Judah, the title a symbol of his role as the King and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. We should not find it trivial that the Son of God was born from the line of an unloved wife.

Leah had no idea what the future held. She simply learned to thank God for his gifts when she received them. I don’t know the future either. But I can join Leah and thank God for the gifts I receive every day.

Genesis 29

Photo by Darrien Staton