Poor Leah. Every time I see this passage of scripture in Genesis 29:17, my heart goes out to Leah, the “weak” eyed girl that apparently wasn’t as beautiful as her sister, Rachel. Actually, she wasn’t beautiful at all, according to this passage.
Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Genesis 29:16-17.
Wow…no sparkle in her eyes, like at all, I guess. Or some translations call it weak eyes. I can’t think of a worse slap in the face than to say a woman has weak eyes. I gotta be honest, every time I read this, I get a little angry and would like to do some slapping myself.
I suppose that’s because I know what it’s like to have weak eyes. I know what it’s like to lose the comparison game and feel like the ugly duckling. And I spent MANY, MANY years trying to overcompensate for my dull, lackluster eyes (figuratively speaking). I used music to try and prop me up, thinking that if I could be amazing and write worthy ballads that brought people to their knees, or to the altar, then that could make up for my weak eyes. I worked myself to complete exhaustion and fell into a deep cavern of depression when my dreams came crashing down all around me. I lost my record deal and I thought I would never recover. I was the weak eyed girl, again.
BUT GOD. Yes, He intervened in my spiral into a black hole of self-hatred and isolation. He completely shook my world up and showed me such extravagant love that I felt like I was the only person in the room with Him. He has a way of making you feel like you are so special to Him (and you are). He loved me right out of my weak eyed state and gave me PRAISE instead of depression.
If you continue to follow Leah’s story, thinks get a bit uglier before they get better. Her and her sister start a little family war to see who can have the most children. And it looks like Leah might win at first, but eventually Rachel has 2 of her own. Because Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, it caused a huge strain and made Leah remember her place- the weak eyed sister again.
But, after years of this ridiculous sisterly struggle, Leah finally settles into a different state of being. It’s almost as if she quits caring about what everyone else thinks about her, and only focuses on God:
Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named this son Judah. Leah named him this because she said, “Now I will praise the LORD.” Then Leah stopped having children. Genesis 29:35
She decided to go the way of praise. The way of gratitude. She opened her eyes to see that God had blessed her, making her fruitful despite her less than desirous eyes that lacked sparkle. Or her figure that was average. She may not have stood out in a crowd, but God was with her and for her and that was more than enough for her.
I hope to encourage all of us today to look to God for affirmation and fulfillment of that longing in our heart to be beautiful in someone else’s eyes. When we do that, we can live from a place of acceptance, joy and hopefulness about the future. We are solidified in his love for us so we can PRAISE Him. It’s a much better place to live.
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