Several months ago I decided to look up the definition of the word precious after hearing the reference on the radio. They were referencing a movie that had come out in 2009, but I was more interested in the word usage. Yes, I like words and dictionaries always have. The definition is
- of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.
- highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality: precious memories.
- dear; beloved: a dearly beloved person; darling.
- Adored.
So something that is precious is definitely something that is treasured. Life is interesting as I have gone through life I have not necessarily given myself much thought or value. In essence somewhat disregarded myself. That only came from years of not feeling I was worth much, certainly not feeling precious to anything or anyone. I have come to realize that I may only be one person but I have value and worth that is inherent (something that I was born with). It took me a long time to figure out what I had learned in church when I was a teenager. Now what does this have to do with the topic at hand? In order to get the full picture you have to know what the meaning is. Lets look at the scriptures for an example of the quote. In the bible there is the story of Jacob and Rachel. Or is it Jacob and Leah. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, but his father in law tricked him into marrying Leah at which point he had to work for seven more years before he could get to Rachel. I am sure he was not happy about this situation he still moved forward and had 4 sons with Leah and also worked hard to get to Rachel. When he finally married Rachel she was unable to bear children for a time and she offered a handmaid who bore 2 sons, not to be outdone Leah also offered a handmaid who also offered 2 sons, so now there was 8 sons and again Leah had another son, making a total of 9 children with 3 different women. I am sure that this affected Rachel’s sense of worth, however Rachel was eventually blessed with 2 sons, now this took a lot of hard work on both Jacob and Rachel’s part. So on the one hand Jacob and Rachel had to wait 7 years to get to be with each other but they both had to wait several years to have children with Jacob. The point is that in the waiting and the striving and the working on been humbled by every single experience their own salvation became precious to them. They knew their value and even though I am sure they would have been happy to not have the circumstances be the way they were that was what was handed them for their own salvation to be worked out. It was a lot of work, but it became precious or actually more sacred to them. They were standing on holy ground as they worked out their own salvation. So if you are facing some hard work, just remember that there are many others that have had to struggle and work just as hard in order to get to where they needed to be.