Dinah

Light a candle and remember the presence of God is with you.

Cut out the pieces to help you tell this story.

There are times and places when women are treated as less important than men.

This is not right. God loves us all. (Pause.)

Yet, my name is still a part of God’s story.

Your name is also a part of God’s story. (Draw a heart with your finger.)

My name is DINAH.

Place Dinah in front of you.

My story is found at the very beginning of the Bible in the very first book.

Take time to look at the Bible timeline at the bottom.

I was the daughter of Leah, granddaughter of Rebekah, great-granddaughter of Sarah.

When I was little, my father, Jacob, led my family from my grandfather’s house back to the land God had promised our family. I grew up in the land of Canaan with 10 older brothers and 2 younger brothers. I was the only daughter.

My brothers were not always kind to one another. They were often jealous and competitive. As I got older, their fighting got worse. My brothers protected me, but they did not protect each other. They were so jealous of my younger brother, Joseph, they sold him away from our family and told the rest of us he had died.

It was hard to be with my family as I got older, and I spent a lot of time with other friends who did not have so many angry brothers around.

My brothers’ anger ended up continuing to hurt many people. Because of their actions, we had to move again as a family. I moved away from my friends. It became even harder when there was not enough food.

My brothers found food, forgiveness, and my long-lost little brother, Joseph, in Egypt. We moved one last time to Egypt where we were able to start healing our hurt.

God never left my family, even when we did not seem very lovable. (Pause.)

My name is Dinah. I am part of God’s story.