How grief, faith, and a simple candle became part of a story I never expected God to write.
A Personal Note From Me 🤍
Six years ago today, my daddy left this world for his heavenly home.
Six years later, my heart still misses him deeply. Grief is funny that way—the years continue to pass, life continues to move, and yet there are days when the missing feels just as close.
But as much as I miss him here, my faith reminds me that this life was never the final destination. And I know that Heaven is so much better than anything this world could offer.
Today felt like the right time to finally share a little more of my story—and the story behind Sweet Myla.
Because before the candles, the fragrances, the events, and everything Sweet Myla has grown into, there was simply a woman walking through life, love, loss, grief, and faith…and a God who never stopped writing her story.
Daddy, this one’s for you. 🤍
The Story Behind Sweet Myla
I never set out to build a candle company.
In fact, the story of Sweet Myla begins long before I ever poured my first candle. It begins with love, loss, faith, and learning what it means to keep going when life looks nothing like you imagined.
Exactly six years ago today, I lost my daddy.
Then, in January 2023, I lost my sister, Amy, to cervical cancer.
Grief has a way of dividing your life into a before and an after. If you’ve ever lost someone you deeply love, you know that grief doesn’t simply disappear.
You learn how to carry it.
You learn how to keep living while a piece of your heart is missing.
There were prayers I prayed that weren’t answered the way I desperately wanted them to be. There were things I didn’t understand. There were moments when I had to reconcile what I knew about God with what I was actually experiencing.
But through all of it, God was still there and He was still good.
He didn’t always change my circumstances. He didn’t take away every painful moment.
But He met me in them.
And I’ve learned that sometimes faith isn’t understanding everything God is doing.
Sometimes faith is simply saying:
“God, I don’t understand this, but I still trust You.”
Then Something New Began
In September 2023, just months after losing my sister, I started making candles.
There wasn’t a grand business plan behind it.
I was simply making candles to cope.
I certainly wasn’t thinking, “God is going to use this as part of my testimony.”
But looking back now, I can see something I couldn’t necessarily see then:
God was still creating something new in my life, even after loss.
What began simply would eventually grow into Sweet Myla.
And somewhere along the way, I realized that this little candle company was becoming part of the next chapter of my story.
Mercy. Favor. Grace.
The name MYLA represents three words that have become incredibly personal to me:
Mercy. Favor. Grace.
They’re more than beautiful words underneath a brand name.
They’re part of my story.
I’ve experienced God’s mercy.
I’ve seen His favor in places I never expected it.
And I know what it means to need His grace to carry you through a day you weren’t sure you could get through.
That’s also why our tagline means so much to me:
A scent of peace. A spark of faith.
I don’t want Sweet Myla to simply be about selling candles or beautiful fragrances.
My hope is that something I create can bring a moment of peace into someone’s home.
Maybe it’s the candle you light at the end of a long day.
Maybe it’s a fragrance that brings back a beautiful memory.
Maybe it’s the quiet moment when the house finally settles and you sit with God.
Whatever it looks like, I hope Sweet Myla reminds you to slow down, breathe, and remember that God is ever near.
One Small Flame
There’s something beautiful about lighting a candle in a dark room.
The darkness doesn’t have to disappear completely for you to notice the light. One small flame changes the atmosphere.
I think life can be like that too.
There are seasons when we can’t see what God is doing.
Seasons of grief.
Seasons of waiting.
Seasons of starting over.
Seasons when we look at our lives and think, “Lord, this isn’t how I thought my story was going to go.”
I’ve been there.
But one of the things God has continued to remind me is that a painful chapter doesn’t have to be the final chapter.
Sweet Myla didn’t erase my grief.
It didn’t replace the people I’ve lost.
And I would never want to make grief sound as though it can be wrapped neatly into a beautiful story.
But it did become one reminder that there could still be new beginnings.
There could still be beauty.
There could still be purpose.
There could still be joy.
And God could still write something new.
I Still Don’t Know the Whole Story
Sweet Myla has grown in ways I never imagined when I poured those first candles in September 2023.
And yet, I still don’t know exactly where God is taking it.
I’m still learning.
I’m still praying.
I’m still dreaming.
I’m still asking God what’s next.
But I’ve learned something along the way:
I don’t need the whole blueprint to give God my yes. I just need enough faith for the next step.
One of the Scriptures that has become part of Sweet Myla is Proverbs 16:24:
“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”
Our words matter.
Our encouragement matters.
Our stories matter.
Sometimes we don’t realize someone else is watching how we walk through a difficult season.
We don’t realize that our decision to keep trusting God may encourage another person who is struggling to trust Him.
And sometimes, the very thing we thought might break us becomes part of the testimony someone else needs to hear.
Your Story Is Not Over
Maybe you found this page because you love candles.
Or maybe somehow you landed here because you needed these words today.
Maybe you’re in a beautiful chapter of your life.
Maybe you’re grieving.
Maybe you’re waiting for an answer.
Maybe you’re starting over.
Maybe God has placed something on your heart and you’re afraid to take the first step.
Wherever you find yourself today, I hope you’ll remember:
God is still writing.
Your current chapter doesn’t have to be your final chapter.
You don’t know what He may restore.
You don’t know who He may place in your path.
You don’t know how He may use something you’ve walked through to help someone else.
And you don’t know what could come from the small thing He’s asking you to say yes to today.
Sweet Myla may have started with candles, but for me, it has become a beautiful reminder of God’s mercy, favor, and grace.
Six years after losing my daddy, and more than three years after losing my sister, I still miss them.
I still have moments when grief catches me unexpectedly.
Faith hasn’t made me miss them less.
Faith has given me hope in the missing.
It reminds me that this life isn’t all there is. Heaven is our final destination.
It reminds me that separation isn’t forever.
And it reminds me that while I’m still here, God isn’t finished with me yet.
I’m still becoming.
Sweet Myla is still becoming.
And God is still writing my story.
And He’s still writing yours.
Your story is not over. 🤍
With love,
Yadi
Founder, Sweet Myla
