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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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June 29, 2016

Rest Assured

Many years ago I was apart of a very early morning Bible study. In that season in my life as a stay-at-home mom to a toddler, it was the only time of day that worked for my schedule without having to line up a sitter each week. One particular morning, my alarm went off and as my eyes struggled to open I immediately felt the desire to pull the covers back over my head and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist. It wasn’t just because I could have used about 900 more hours of sleep (did I mention I had a toddler?), it was mostly because of what was happening in my world at that time.

farmhouse kitchen island summer decor atthepicketfence.com

 

I managed to get myself out of bed and into whatever clothes had landed on the floor the night before, grabbed some coffee and drove across town in the dark as my brain tried to convince my body that it really was morning and not the middle of the night.

About halfway through our study time, we would always take a potty break. That was about the time that the guzzling of coffee was taking effect. As I made my way through the dark lobby of our church to the women’s restroom, all I could think about was that the sadness was trying to consume me. You see, at that time, it seemed like there was bad news every which way I turned. My father-in-law had just been diagnosed with cancer. The son of our dear friends had just been diagnosed with leukemia. We were in the process of trying to adopt and were hitting brick walls at every step. And I was weary.

I stepped into the stall and as I reached my hand out to grab a toilet seat cover I was stopped in my tracks. There, on the metal toilet seat cover holder were two words; ‘Rest Assured‘.

Now, I’ve been in that restroom at least a hundred times prior to that day but I had never noticed the name of the toilet seat cover company before. Let’s face it, it’s not the kind of thing one is usually paying attention to. But, on that morning, those words felt like the sweetest of gifts. Yes, my initial reaction was to chuckle a bit at the name, but the emotion immediately following was one of utter amazement.

Red tin canisters in kitchen atthepicketfence.com

Because on that day, in that moment, there could not have been two more perfect words for me to see.

I just knew that in the midst of the questions and the heartache and the sadness, God was speaking to me. It didn’t matter how He did it. It just mattered that He did it.

And, I believe that there are those of you who need to hear those same words today. You need to be told that you can rest assured.

You can rest assured that God cherishes you.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

You can rest assured that God is for you. 

“God is for YOU! If he had a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If there’s a tree in heaven, he’s carved your name in the bark.” ~ Max Lucado

You can rest assured that God has chosen you. 

“Just as chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love he predestined us to adoption as sons (and daughters!) through Jesus Christ to Himself.” Ephesians 1:4-5

You can rest assured that God has a plan for you. 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from the place from which I sent you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

When you put together the meanings for the word ‘rest’ and the word ‘assured’ you can define it this way: to rest assured means to relax with confidence.

What would happen if you were able to relax with confidence in the Lord even in the midst of the trials. If I’m honest, I have a hard time relaxing even when things are great let alone when I’m struggling!

summer kitchen island bounty

Over the years I’ve often come across a quote that has God saying to us something to the effect of,

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this!” ~ God

But for some reason that always seems a bit dismissive to me. I think the more accurate statement would be,

“Rest assured that I’m with you IN this.” ~ God

Friends, resting assured in God’s love for us doesn’t mean that the pain or the fears or the doubts just magically disappear. It means that when those feelings arise, we can bring them to Him confidently knowing that we can lean into Him. That we can relax into His love. It means knowing that we are cherished and chosen. That He is for us and has a plan for us.

On that morning as I stood there in the bathroom stall, I had no doubt that those words were meant just for me. That my Heavenly Father cared for me so much that He would speak to me through any means.

Even if He had to use toilet seat covers.

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16 Comments Filed Under: Devotionals, Faith, Good Thoughts Tagged With: devotional, Faith, God

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Comments

  1. Rachel says

    June 29, 2016 at 4:11 AM

    Vanessa, Thank you so much for sharing this post. For the past few weeks I have struggled to just survive, and I needed to remember how much we crave to rest in God, and how much He desires for us to do just that.

    Reply
  2. Mechelle says

    June 29, 2016 at 8:58 AM

    Thank you. Truely needed and greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  3. Deborah says

    June 29, 2016 at 9:01 AM

    Could not love this any more!!! It’s always the still small voice, isn’t it? Amazing how God speaks to us.

    Reply
  4. Sarah Adams says

    June 29, 2016 at 10:59 AM

    Beautiful! I know that feeling of weariness all too well. What a great story! I chucked a bit a the name too ;).

    Reply
  5. Helen says

    June 29, 2016 at 8:20 PM

    Thank you Vanessa for the great reminder of Our Father’s Love for sometimes are really easier than others!!! Your thoughts clearly remind me of what HE has done before, now and in the future. It’s close to 11:30 pm and just reading your post for today and so glad I did and GOD bless❤️❤️❤️

    Reply
  6. Julie Kimmel says

    June 29, 2016 at 9:19 PM

    Vanessa, there is no coincidence that I read this post after I had previously chatted with the Lord, while fixing dinner, about not having the patience to wait for His timing. I was thinking that I would pray and pray hard and I would have heard His answer before 2YEARS!!! But I literally had His answer immediately and He said, “You have not trusted enough in me to seek and follow my plan for you”. I had prayed but I wanted things to change and I expected an outcome Now without listening to the Lord layout the plan for me. Rest assured, after reading this I will be listening! Thank you for proving, just as you know from the toilet seat cover, the Lord gets our attention one way or the other!

    Reply
  7. Leslie says

    June 30, 2016 at 5:16 AM

    Thank you, Vanessa…needed this one this morning.

    Reply
  8. elizabeth@pineconesandacorns says

    June 30, 2016 at 8:44 AM

    A beautiful message! Thank you so very much for being true to yourself and for sharing your life.

    Reply
  9. Vicki says

    June 30, 2016 at 3:21 PM

    Thank you for this. The first quote is my favorite verse, and I needed to “hear ” it again. I am feeling so conflicted in my life right now, so torn, so confused, – I really need the Lord to speak to me, guide me, touch me, show me- what to do.

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 30, 2016 at 4:04 PM

      Vicki I’m so sorry that you are struggling right now in your life. I’m holding you up in prayer!

      Reply
  10. Sondra @ Sondra Lyn at Home says

    June 30, 2016 at 10:53 PM

    Isn’t it wonderful the ways God finds to speak to us? Thank you for sharing this awesome memory and reminder to all of us! Hugs!!

    Reply
  11. Peggy Deaux says

    July 10, 2016 at 8:31 PM

    Now I know why my Internet crashed for a month and it took so long to catch up.. This is the right time for me. God’s blessing upon you. Peggy

    Reply
  12. Bonnie says

    July 13, 2016 at 9:09 AM

    Thanks so much for sharing. This brought tears to my eyes. My youngest daughter is going through a divorce and she has a 3 year old daughter and it is so heartbreaking. I have been struggling but I know that the Lord loves her even more than I do and has a plan for her.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 14, 2016 at 7:20 AM

      Oh Bonnie I’m so sorry for what your daughter and granddaughter are going through right now as well as what you are experiencing as you try and provide support for them. Praying for you!

      Reply
  13. Shelley Sapyta says

    October 4, 2016 at 6:01 AM

    Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. I was born in October so it was my very first season
    that I experienced on this God given earth. . I love everything about the fall. It’s the warm vibrant colors, the changing of the season, it’s as though God said “Now it’s time to slow down” and enjoy our lives even more. When the weather turns colder, nothing is better than curling up with a good book, (like Life In Season) next
    to a warm fireplace.
    A walk in the fall is like taking a walk in the heavens. The sky becomes more subdued and softer, the trees look like rainbows, and the leaves seemed to glisten as they blow in the wind.
    Fall for some is a step away from a cold winter but for me it’s a change which is almost intoxicating.
    Enjoy every minute, it will soon come and go.

    Shelley Sapyta

    Reply
  14. Leslie says

    March 4, 2017 at 6:32 AM

    I just ran across this post this morning and it’s just what I need! The assurance of the Lord being with us and resting in Him…. that’s powerful and beautiful!! The lovely pictures of your home drew me in even more. I haven’t been in the blog world much the past few months, but I’ve been inspired to begin sharing and writing again. Anyways, I’m really glad I decided to browse through your place here because I always come away feeling very refreshed and thankful. Thank you ladies for what you’re doing here!!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake a I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake and grabbed a banana out of the freezer and was about to put it into my shake before I realized it was a frozen egg roll. Sooooo that's how my day is going so far! 🤪How about you?

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And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

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Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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