Being (un)Favored Part 1

This year, I’m using the Present Over Perfect Guided Journal. I read Shauna Neiquist’s Present Over Perfect book when it came out a few years ago and so much of it just connected with me. When I saw she had created a journal, I knew it was right for this season of my life. The journal has small excerpts from the book and prompts to help you think, reflect, and write. I’ll be sharing some of the prompts and my responses.

Prompt (pg. 88): Is there a particular Bible story you’ve struggled with over the years? What is it, and why does it trigger your filters?

There are so many hard stories, problematic stories, in the Bible, for so many reasons. If I feel this question with my heart instead of my brain though…

And if I am honest…

It is all the stories where one person is favored over another for seemingly no reason.

Leah and Rebekah. Jacob and Esau. Cain and Abel. The Beloved Disciple. There are others, but tese are the ones that immediately come to mind. (Mary the mother of Jesus too.)

Why were they loved more or favored? What did they do? Why were they chosen? And if they didn’t do something to be chosen, then how is it fair that they were favored?

I suppose this speaks more to the condition of my heart rather than the love of God. My heart, that still seems to feel like I have to earn love and worth. That I have to prove myself.

Sigh. Maybe one day I’ll learn.

Friends, what Bible stories do you struggle with?