Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" – Genesis 30:2

Today's Scripture Reading (October 11, 2024): Genesis 30

A good friend and his wife wanted children. They had jumped through all the hoops, yet they were not graced with any kids. What I especially remember about this stage in their lives was the Mother's Day celebrations. I was just a friend, but my heart would break every Mother's Day as we would honor mothers, and I would watch my friend leave the sanctuary in tears because she wanted to be a mother, and yet she still wasn't. Those moments of despair had a lasting effect on me. In one of those moments, I decided that how we celebrated Mother's and Father's had to change. We had mothers who had children, but we also had women who played the role of mothers who were without children. I remembered my childhood and a married couple who had a significant effect on me and who never had any children of their own. Instead, they donated time and effort to build into the lives of many children like my sister and me. There was no doubt in my mind that this couple were parents but never got honored as such. And so, we started to honor ladies on Mother's Day. We wanted to honor anyone who played the role of a mother, whether they had children or not, and sometimes this meant honoring a few fathers.

For my friends, they eventually gave up on the idea of having a child. Maybe they would adopt a child someday down the road. But for now, well, they got a dog. That seems to be another common reaction. The childless couple I mentioned had greatly affected me and my sister had two dogs. If you can't have children, getting a dog seems to be the appropriate thing to do. My friends got a dog and gave up any hope of having a child. Then, something amazing happened. Debbie (not her real name) got pregnant. Again, it is a familiar story. Something that you want, you decide you can't have, and then you get it. It isn't a rare story; it happens more often than we might want to admit.

Rachel wants children, yet she remains without a child. She knows how much Jacob values her. After all, Jacob had worked fourteen years without pay to get her as his wife. He wouldn't have worked one day for Leah. The only reason why Leah was his wife was because their father had tricked him. There was no doubt that Jacob loved Rachel. But that wasn't enough. The lack of a child had driven Rachel to despair despite her beauty and the value Jacob had placed on her.

Yet, her most crucial desire Jacob was powerless to fulfill. She blamed Jacob, and Jacob was frustrated, and he became angry. He could work fourteen years for her. Jacob could shower her with everything that she wanted. But what he couldn't do was give her a child. That was up to God and dependent on God's timing. And nothing that Jacob did could change that.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 31