Sanford mom opens online boutique that blends her passions of fashion, faith

I wanted to share my experiences as a believer but also share about my love of fashion. As time went on, I learned that not only could these two worlds co-exist in the same space but also could be utilized together to empower women that the best is yet to come.

I always had a passion for both faith and fashion, but I felt God calling me to this space in 2019 when I first registered my boutique as a business and in June 2020 we officially launched.

At CharleyMadelyn, you will find women's feminine and chic clothing as well as faith-based and inspirational items such as coffee mugs, devotional books, and journals. More than that, we want to serve as a reminder to women that whatever season you are in life, You can and will conquer it.

My mom lives with us, so she has been such an incredible blessing being able to help with our girls during the day and on the weekends when we have pop-ups for the boutique. My husband has an incredible way of setting up and breaking down our pop-ups with such ease. I also have two of my closest friends who help me during my pop-ups.

It's not easy at all and, at times, it can be very overwhelming. But during those times I try to remember to stop what I am doing, take a deep breath and pray, asking God for strength.

Not only did we feel so much pain, but personally I was ashamed of myself, I was ashamed that my body couldn't do what it was "supposed to do," so I lived with that shame in silence.

Once, we found out we were pregnant after a year and a half fertility journey, I knew that I wanted to help women by not only sharing my story but encouraging them during theirs. Going through a fertility journey is tolling in all aspects. Not only emotionally, mentally, and physically but also financially as well. We wanted to be able to provide a little relief to couples going through treatments. So each month we honor and highlight a couple that is either just starting treatments or are in the midst of treatments and we donate 10% of our monthly proceeds to their treatments.

We want to raise awareness because we want to let others know that they aren't alone in this journey and we truly believe that your story has the power to change someone else's experience. I also want to bring awareness about infertility as a whole. Our own journey has brought to our attention so many others going through the same journey.

My family not only told me what faith was, but I witnessed it first hand through their actions and how they lived their life. Since I was younger, I always knew God had a plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). Faith has gotten me through some pretty tough times in life, knowing that better is on it's way and that brighter days are coming.

Faith is also relying on God's strength and knowing that His plans are so much greater than yours. My pastor references faith as a muscle; the more experiences you go through, the stronger that muscle is.

My faith as a 23-year-old entering law school and believing and hoping that I would be able to graduate is different than my faith as a 26-year-old who watched cancer turn my tough-as-nails dad to someone who was ready to surrender; or a 28-year-old who wanted nothing more but to become a mom. Although all of these experiences were different, the one thing that remains is God. Faith reminded me that the same God that got me through that situation will get me through this one. Faith is the reason I opened CharleyMadelyn in the midst of a global pandemic.