If you and I had met for coffee back when I was in the throws of raising my 5 beautiful children, and you said that being an empty nester would someday launch me into a second career filled with purpose and light, I’d have laughed at you. However, that’s how Heavenly Home Inspirations started in my country home in Upstate New York.

With my kids out of the house, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. In 2016, I purchased a candle-making kit, and my husband of 30 years and I worked together to nail down the basics of candle alchemy. I’d already started to dream about what this could turn into, and he kept turning me back to the directions. We make a good team.

However, my love for candles didn’t start there; it has grown over the years, getting its start when I worked for a home decorating company, and it continues to follow me through life into every store I visit (yes, I’m that woman in the candle aisle).

A set of 12 candles was just the beginning of something beautiful, but it wasn’t without its obstacles, and first in line were my own doubts and fears about what I was doing. I’d spent most of my life joyfully supporting the work of other people’s dreams and futures. Surrounded by people who personified the world’s definition of success, I wondered, where does that leave me and do I have a purpose beyond helping others accomplish their goals? Do I really have the time to dedicate to this if I’m working full-time? Will I ever be successful? Because of questions like these, I learned early on that I was going to have to “Do it Afraid” if I wanted to do it at all.

As a woman of faith, I began to dream with God about how I could use candles to make a difference in my community, or maybe even the world. Through time and prayer, I landed on the idea of my Pay it Forward Candle as the cornerstone of my business; for every customer who makes a purchase, I provide a mini candle in the hopes the customer will give it to someone else to brighten their day. To this day I get teary-eyed when a customer tells me of how giving a Pay-it-Forward candle deeply touched a friend or family member.

A few years later, in 2019, I retired from my full-time job and stepped with sure feet into my purpose.   I’m truly blessed to have such supportive friends, family, and community members who spur me on and lift me up each day. Since my retirement, I’ve had even more time to invest in my business, expanding and trying new things like multi-day vendor events, custom gifts, and soon, subscription boxes. As you can imagine, I’m up to my “nose” in candles and loving every minute of it! When I am not making candles, you might find me spending time with my family, playing in a golf league, or working in my garden.

A child once gave me a magnet at a craft fair that said, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle,” and it touched my heart deeply because it’s so true. Together, they make the world even brighter. Thank you for bringing your light to my little corner of the internet.