Then God remembered

-Today I turn 60-

How did I get to this age so quickly? I blinked, I think. I’m pondering today: the years of joy and struggle have passed so quickly, prayers have been answered (and I’m so grateful to God), and some prayers have dimmed with the silent years.

“Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.” (Genesis 30 v 22-24)

After years of silence, waiting, watching her sister give birth again and again, tears, wondering if God had forgotten her, we read something beautiful.

“Then God remembered Rachel.” It doesn’t mean that God had forgotten Rachel and then, at last, He remembers her. It means the appointed time has come.

God’s timing has rarely matched my own. But looking back, His has always been better.

God had been listening to her. God is not impatient with our asking. He doesn’t grow tired of our repetitious prayers.

Rachel’s barrenness in her world was more than a private grief. It was a public shame. God is not only the healer of our lives but also of the shame attached to our wounds.

She is grateful, but she doesn’t stop there. She continues to be hopeful for the future.

She names him Joseph, which means “may He add.”

Rachel’s posture in the very moment of blessing is to say, “There is more. Lord, add to me”.

So that is my prayer on this birthday too. A prayer that says: You have been faithful for over 60 years. I trust You with whatever comes next. May You add to me. More of Your presence, more of Your purpose, more of the joy of watching You work.

If you are in a season that feels like God has forgotten you, He hasn’t.

If your prayers feel unanswered, they are heard.

If you are carrying shame or disappointment, that is not the end of your story.

Rachel’s story didn’t begin with Joseph. It began with years of aching, praying, and not yet seeing.

Sixty years in, I am more convinced of this than ever: God is faithful. He remembers.