Rachel

I can't imagine the anguish that Rachel felt having her righteous desire for motherhood denied her over and over again while having to watch her sister, and then her handmaiden, and then her sister's handmaiden all bear children to her husband while her prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears. It would be easy to agree with Rachel that there was no reason good enough for the Lord to withhold this most precious gift and responsibility from her. Except, maybe there was one good reason. Maybe, the child that Rachel would bear would need to be in the right time and the right place to save their entire family. Like Abraham and Sarah, Rachel had to wait far longer than was just or fair for her son to come into the world, and, again, like Abraham and Sarah, the Lord would require her son as a sacrifice, but unlike Abraham and Sarah, Rachel did not get to see the Lord save her son while in the flesh. Sometimes we don't get to see the whole plan while in this mortal existence, and it may seem from our limited perspective that God either forgot about us or actively participated in our misery, but if we trust in the Lord, all will come out right in the end. Too long Rachel was asked to wait for her son, and too swiftly was he snatched from her without explanation and to her dying day seemingly without justification, but through Rachel's faith and patience, because of her pain and sorrow, the Lord was able to use her son to save her whole family and bless untold generations to come. Rachel may have died heartbroken and assuming that she made little to no lasting impact, but from the other side of the veil she has been able to witness that her suffering was not in vain and the legacy of perseverance and patience that she displayed has rippled through the centuries and changed the world for the better.