• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

May 7, 2016

About Mother’s Day

Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice: mourn with those who mourn.”

lavender topiaries on dining table

This is what we do on Mother’s Day.

Because, my friends, it IS actually possible to feel two emotions at the same time. This is a concept that has taken me years to grasp and was particularly difficult when I was in a season of mourning on Mother’s Day while everyone else seemed to be rejoicing.

vintage vignette

But, I have learned that there is room for both emotions to co-exist even in the exact same moment.

It’s an amazing thing when you realize that celebrating another’s joy doesn’t take away from your loss.

And it’s an equally amazing thing when you realize that mourning another’s loss doesn’t take away anything from your celebration.

Spring bouquet with lilacs and snowball blossoms

We can’t do it through our own strength though. It’s only by the power of Christ in us that we are able to accomplish this.

So, to those of you who will wake up on Mother’s Day and will be rejaled with love and attention, we rejoice with you! This day is one of celebration for you and no one would ever begrudge you that.

And to those of you who face this day with a heavy heart because you are dealing with

loss

unfulfilled dreams

a traumatic past

a traumatic present

…we mourn with you. We pray for you.

And for all of you, no matter what your circumstances, don’t ever forget that today is just a day.

This day, this one little man-made ‘holiday’ doesn’t define us. It doesn’t prove our worth.

We are defined by the amazing, perfect love of our Heavenly Father and our priceless worth to Him.

cover photo option1

Praying you feel moments of joy this Mother’s Day whether you are rejoicing or mourning,

Vanessa signature

9 Comments Filed Under: Devotionals, Faith, Family Tagged With: Faith, God

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « Make Room For What You Love
Next Post: Bi-fold Shutter Doors Turned Entry Decor »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jo Anne says

    May 7, 2016 at 2:56 AM

    Lovely insight for those of us who have lost our precious mothers. Now I focus more on the lovely mothers around me–my sister, my sister-in-law, sweet friends, and my two daughters. Only Jesus allows us to experience joy in the midst of loss.

    Reply
  2. Kimberly Bruhn says

    May 7, 2016 at 5:00 AM

    Thank you. I lost my mother when I was two years old and was raised by a dad who was old enough to be my grandpa. Segue to 20 years ago and I was so happy to have my own family with three beautiful children. Then our middle child, at the age of 11, was diagnosed with childhood cancer (leukemia) and time, once again, seemed to stand still while I tried to cherish every moment. Just yesterday I found something that was enlightening. You see, it’s been three Mother’s Days since our son died at age 17 and I was packaging up some of the last of his “stuff.” You know, the random cards, photos and special things that he had kept for some reason in a dresser drawer. Among all that chaos was a Mother’s Day card, hand-made by Michael. It had no date but was neatly written in his tight, tiny cursive. Dear Mom — You are the best mother I know. I hope you have a fun Mother’s Day and a great life! Love you, Michael.

    Reply
  3. Wendy Johnson says

    May 7, 2016 at 10:01 AM

    I thought of my sister when I read this, she lost her only child when he was 32 but we still have our 82 year old mother. Rejoicing and mourning, perfect verse.

    Reply
  4. Leslie says

    May 7, 2016 at 7:35 PM

    Very beautifully stated and thank you for recognizing that it can much be a bitter sweet ay for many. I absolutely love your blog, because while you have impeccable inspiration for the home you also have depth for the soul!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      May 9, 2016 at 6:30 PM

      Oh Leslie!!! So sweet of you to come by and thank you so much for your lovely comment. 🙂 I seem to remember that we emailed back and forth at one point about family stuff and I just popped over to your blog and it seems like your life is filled to the brim with joy. Your children are darling and I’m just so thrilled to see how God has provided for you!

      Reply
  5. Rhonda S. says

    May 8, 2016 at 10:16 AM

    What a beautiful post, Vanessa! We sometimes get caught up in our celebrating and forget those who are in mourning this day. I appreciate your thoughts on our worth to our dear Heavenly Father…God Bless You!

    Reply
  6. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    May 8, 2016 at 3:36 PM

    Beautiful post Vanessa as always…I hope you had a most wonderful Mother’s Day!

    Reply
  7. Danna Frank says

    May 8, 2016 at 5:37 PM

    Thank you so much for this beautiful post. Our son died in a tragic car accident almost nine years ago and not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. We have two beautiful daughters and four beautiful granddaughters. I woke up today and thought it’s just another day without Dustyn. That is so unfair to my girls but to me it’s just another day. God Bless You!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      May 9, 2016 at 6:25 PM

      Oh Danna I cannot even imagine the unspeakable heartache you experience. I type these words with tears in my eyes and want you to know that the minute I read your comment I prayed for you! <3

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Stay updated!

Must Reads

Recent Posts

  • Why We’ve Chosen Vacations Over Projects April 26, 2022
  • A New Look for the Family Room March 1, 2022
  • Christmas Kitchen and Family Room December 19, 2021
  • Christmas Home Tour Part One December 10, 2021
  • Easy Hot Cocoa Station November 21, 2021

Footer

Stay Connected!

Instagram

Happy Friday!! I’m working on a blog post to sha Happy Friday!! I’m working on a blog post to share all of the details of our family room shelving makeover but I’m super impatient and just had to give you all a sneak peek!! We are SO happy with how they turned out and it finally looks like I’ve always envisioned. Our quick fix years ago (scroll to see the before photo) never felt quite right but now? Soooo much better!! 🙌🏻 Big shoutout to our amazingly talented friend Matt @redemptive_woodworx for bringing our vision to life and doing such impeccable work.

I hope you all have a great start to the 4th of July weekend and make sure to check my stories later for Friday Funnies!
The month of June is coming to a close and it has The month of June is coming to a close and it has been JAM packed! The highlight by far though was my son's graduation from high school. When I started blogging, he was only 6 years old and some of you have been apart of my community here for that entire time. Now, he's 19 and there is a reason parents are told not to blink because the years truly do go faster than I ever could have imagined. He has become such an incredible young man we are so excited to see how God is going to unfold the next chapter of his life. We celebrated with parties galore (SO many open houses to attend!) and made memories we'll forever cherish. My mama heart was filled to bursting with the joy of it all! Now we're taking some time to just enjoy these warm, summer days making even more memories because, when you’re at this stage of parenting, you know all too well how much you need to grasp every opportunity to spend time together.

I hope your summer is off to a great start too dear friends! 🪴
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts o “And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Happy first day of summer dear friends!! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted something new here but life has been crazy. I’ll have some new photos of house projects and life events to share with you soon but, got now, I’m just going to enjoy this gorgeous first day of summer after our ridiculously long, wet spring. ☀️
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. Th “It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” (Maud Hart Lovelace) 

Welcome June!
“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”
General Douglas MacArthur

Grateful today and every day for those who were vigilant to the point of death in the preservation of our freedom. May we honor their sacrifice by being vigilant too. #memorialday
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
This is one of my most favorite projects from my b This is one of my most favorite projects from my book Life in Season! 

Because, if heaven has a fragrance, I’m fairly certain it smells like lilacs.

I think that somewhere along the way the verse in the Bible that said, ‘heaven will smell like lilacs’ just got lost in translation. But it HAD to have been in there at some point, right?

When I bury my head in the blossoms (which I absolutely MUST do every single time I walk past them), I immediately feel a stirring in my soul.

It seems like I wait forever for my lilac tree to bloom. Every year I anxiously watch as the buds begin to form on the branches and then when the blossoms finally burst forth I begin that agonizing process of deciding the absolute perfect moment to snip them and bring them inside.

And then, after all of that waiting and watching it’s just over…done. Because, unlike heaven, lilacs don’t last for an eternity. So, making my own lilac room spray seemed like the perfect way to enjoy their fragrance long after the blossoms have faded.

Here’s how to make it! Ingredients: Water, Vodka, Lilac fragrance oil. Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka. Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

Once you’ve made this lilac scented room spray you will be very tempted to spray it in every room in your house. And someone may want to use it in the bathroom to cover up other less…ummmm….pleasing aromas.

But, do not, I repeat do NOT, let them.

You’ve captured the fragrance of heaven in a bottle and you wouldn’t want to go and tarnish it now would you? 😉
We had two back to back days of sunshine (the most We had two back to back days of sunshine (the most we’ve had in a LONG time) and now we are back to pouring rain. This has officially confirmed what I’ve know to be true for awhile now.

I’m a MUCH better version of myself when the sun is shining! 🤪 So I’ll just be over here today plotting and planning how my husband and I can be snowbirds someday when the kids are out of the house.

If you could spend your winters (and apparently most of spring too!) in any part of the country, where would it be?
Happy weekend sweet friends!! We’ve had a LOT of Happy weekend sweet friends!! We’ve had a LOT of rain lately (which is saying something when you live in Oregon) and I’ll admit that it’s affecting my moods a bit. I feel like I’m dragging and struggling to find the energy to get stuff done. So don’t mind me if I’m over here looking at photos of my garden in the summertime and finding that it keeps me hopeful about those days to come. They will come, right?! 🤪. 

What are your favorite plants that you look forward to seeing in the summer?
We’re going to be giving our laundry room a make We’re going to be giving our laundry room a makeover soon. It’s LONG overdue! In fact, the folks from the counter company were just here taking measurements. While we have made some simple, inexpensive updates over the years, it still has many of the original elements from when the house was built in 1992.

Two of our bathrooms are also in need of major makeovers. And we’ve saved up enough money over the years to tackle those projects. But, for the most part, we made the decision to use the bulk of that money in another way. While we knew that it was financially wise to invest in our house, we also knew that the greatest investment we could make was in our children. 

I’ll admit, there are times where I see other people doing massive overhauls of their entire home in a matter of months and I feel a prick of envy. But, we decided that if our choice was between waiting a bit longer to enjoy a renovated bathroom or going on adventures as a family, we would choose adventures every time. And we don’t regret that decision for a single second. It’s not that we haven’t tackled home projects (we’ve done a lot!). It’s just that it’s been a slow and steady process. 

Most recently, we let our son pick where we would travel for spring break since this is his senior year of high school and we are trying to make up for lost time. With so much of life ‘paused’ for two years, we have appreciated these moments more than ever. And, since he’ll be heading to college in the fall, we are very aware of how important it is to spend this time together while we still have a modicum of control over everyone’s schedules.

We have many years left to remodel our home but only so much time left to make memories with our children.

And, while I’m always happy to look around my home and see rooms that are updated and more reflecting of our style, it doesn’t compare to the joy I feel when I look around my home and see the people I love the most who have been shaped by the many adventures we’ve experienced together.
Load More... Follow
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2022 At The Picket Fence