Years after Intriguing Scents began, I entered a difficult season of my life.

I was exhausted spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

There were family circumstances I could not fix, responsibilities that felt heavy, and problems that seemed to require something from me constantly.

I had spent years learning how to survive, and when life became difficult, some of those survival patterns surfaced again.

I tried to manage everything.

Every person. Every problem. Every possible outcome.

Some of what I called responsibility was actually control.

I was carrying things that belonged to God, trying to prevent outcomes I could not control, and exhausting myself attempting to hold everything together.

And I became angry.

I was angry with God.

I questioned why He allowed certain things. I was disappointed, tired, and hurting.

Instead of continually bringing those feelings honestly to Him, I began pulling away. Prayer became less frequent. I stopped spending time in His Word the way I had before.

The farther I moved from the very One I needed, the more I tried to find comfort and control elsewhere.

That is part of the story too.

I do not want to build a faith-centered brand that gives women the impression that once they follow Jesus, they stop having real emotions or difficult seasons.

We still hurt. We get frustrated. We can become angry. We can react badly. We can withdraw. We can make mistakes.

The difference is that we are invited to return.

The lesson that would later become REMAIN began in that place.

Not because I had fixed everything. Not because my circumstances had suddenly become easy. Not because I had mastered my emotions.

I was learning to pause instead of immediately reacting. To breathe long enough to recognize what was happening inside me. To pray honestly instead of performing strength. And to remain with God before rushing back into another problem I thought I had to solve.

During that season, as I began to understand more clearly what I had lived and what God had been teaching me through it, REMAIN took shape.

Remain became a personal instruction before it became the name of a devotional.

It reminded me that returning to God did not require pretending I was not angry, hurt, disappointed, overwhelmed, or tired.

It required bringing the truth of where I was back into His presence.

That understanding became the foundation of the REMAIN rhythm:

Pause. Breathe. Pray. Remain.

Peace comes from God.

REMAIN simply helps create an intentional setting for prayer, Scripture, reflection, journaling, and stillness.

Remain. Don’t React.

Psalm 46:10