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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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June 7, 2016

When it’s Not Time to Bloom

I was walking past my entry table for probably the hundredth time today when I noticed that all of the peonies in the bunch I had purchased at the store where opening at different rates.

entry table with french country decor

Some were all big and fluffy, in full bloom. While others were only half-way open.

Then there was this one, still closed tightly.

I studied it for awhile, wondering why it wasn’t opening at the same rate as the others.

peony

It reminded me of all of the quotes I’ve ever read about blooming and blossoming and how every one of them places emphasis on being open. There’s the suggestion that only when we are fully blooming will we have fully arrived.

And I realized that I don’t think I have ever read a quote about the beauty of the closed bud.

I think that’s such a shame.

Have you ever noticed on social media how often we are shown a dramatic ‘Before’ and ‘After’? The emphasis is always on how vastly someone improved on a room in their home or their haircut or their makeup technique. And yet, with so much focus on the ‘after’ perhaps we are missing out on the opportunity to see any of the beauty that was there in the ‘before’.

You see, I think that there is sweetness in that blossom that hasn’t opened yet, even when all of the others around it have. If you look closely you can see so many details and nuances. You can see colors in that bud that you no longer see once it’s fully opened.

peony blossom

That bloom is going at its own pace. It’s in no hurry to catch up to the others.

But we don’t do that, do we? We find ourselves looking around at all of those people who seem to be in full bloom in their lives, whose dreams are coming true or who seem to have it all together.

And we wonder why we aren’t blooming as quickly as they are.

But that little peony bloom in the pitcher on my entry table wasn’t wondering that. It wasn’t droopy or hanging its head in shame. It was strong and upright and holding its own among the other flowers.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

I love that in this verse there is emphasis on something being made beautiful in ‘its’ time. Not sooner, not later, just when it is the exact right time for whatever ‘it’ is to be made beautiful. In our humanness, we want to hurry this process along. The grandeur of those big, fluffy blooms can seem to outshine the ones that are still closed up.

But friends, we need to remember that there is so much beauty in the seasons of waiting.  Don’t wish this time away. Savor it, ponder it, rest in it. There is so much to be learned from the details and the nuances.

Can you trust that you will be fully open at the exact right moment for YOU?

It’s hard, I know. Believe me, I know.

But at this point in my life, I have experienced what happens when I wait to be made beautiful in MY time. Or, more accurately, being made beautiful in the Lord’s time.

And, I promise you that it’s worth the wait!

peony

Are you struggling with this at all right now in your life? Would you consider sharing some of your journey with me and the rest of the At the Picket Fence community?

It’s always nice to know that we aren’t alone in our journey.

I hope you know how blessed I feel that you decided to meet me at the Fence today,

Vanessa signature

8 Comments Filed Under: Devotionals, Faith, Good Thoughts Tagged With: devotions, Faith, God

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Comments

  1. Michele Riggsbee says

    June 7, 2016 at 6:40 AM

    Thank you for this lovely reminder. I’m 53 years old and I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I “grow up”. I need to remind myself that I am exactly where the Good Lord wants me to be. Thanks to your post, I now realize that it might not be my time to bloom and that I should just enjoy this very special place in time in my life. God is good and will allow me to bloom when he is ready. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 7, 2016 at 7:56 AM

      Thank you Michele! I find it so hard to stop spinning my wheels trying to figure out what/who I’m supposed to be and instead just ‘be’…right where I am and right where God has me. Praying for you in this season of your life!

      Reply
  2. Lynn Czap says

    June 7, 2016 at 11:30 AM

    I’m not sure why, but the last three or four blog posts you have made I get an email like always, but when I click on the “read the whole post” nothing happens. I have tried to open it on my phone, ipad and computer, but no luck. In order to read it I have to log into the blog. Just wondering if there’s an issue on my end or yours. I do enjoy receiving your posts-they are always such an encouragement. I can very definitely relate to Michele’s post as well-thank you for your insight in this post.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 7, 2016 at 3:19 PM

      Hi Lynn! Thank you SO much for letting me know about the email issue. We switched to a new provider and have had a few glitches. I will definitely be looking into that and really do appreciate you telling us. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Leslie says

    June 7, 2016 at 11:37 AM

    Beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Vanessa. So many seasons of waiting in my life…but wouldn’t have it any other way than His best.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 9, 2016 at 6:44 AM

      Thank you Leslie! Praying for you in your seasons of waiting. <3

      Reply
  4. Rebecca Turner says

    June 9, 2016 at 5:43 AM

    I see that you haven’t received very many comments…but that doesn’t mean that you haven’t struck a cord. I saw this post the other day and it made tears come to my eyes. Reading it again, it brings the same reaction. I thought of answering, but wondered what to say, without saying too much. Life circumstances have thrust me into a role of support and care-giver for several sick family members with cancer, back-to-back. (Two passed, and one recovered.) Also, I have been a support for my daughter, and devoted to my grandchildren as their frequent caregiver/babysitter. These roles are not without huge blessings, but they do not satisfy my artistic appetite. Or provide a paycheck! Sometimes I feel permanently cast in the role of “Martha.” And yes, it does seem like all the other flowers are blooming bright around me. Thanks for your encouraging post!

    Reply
  5. Deborah says

    June 16, 2017 at 4:00 PM

    I love this article, and shared it. Sometimes we do feel we’re failing, and that our dreams will never arrive. But God has a purpose in all of it, good and bad. We are His continual work, He hand picked each one who knows Him to demonstrate His goodness and mercy. Even when we don’t see it ourselves, we shine as lights in a dark and fallen world. And we have our hope in Him.

    Reply

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I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

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