About Me and a Little Glimpse into the Story of Honey Bee Mine.
Hey there! My name is Caitlin. I am a wife and mama to a beautiful little boy and some pretty spoiled animals.
Some of my favorite things to do are spending time in nature with my
family, hanging out at our local thrift shops, taking pictures, playing
guitar, and, of course, creating art.
I have always loved art. As a child, I would write short stories and
draw pictures to go along with them. If you asked me at any time what I
wanted to be when I grew up, it was "an artist."
When I was 18 and getting ready to enter college, I changed my degree
from art to business because, realistically, being an artist seemed like
just a dream. I didn't think it was something I would ever be able to
do professionally; it would just always be a hobby.
The reason for changing my degree to business was that it was more
generic. I knew I'd be able to apply what I learned to many life
scenarios. I did always want to own my own business, but again, that
just seemed like an out-of-reach dream.
That being said, being an artist and business owner stayed in my back
pocket, in the back of my mind, for years. I never revisited those
dreams until 2018, after I got married and shortly thereafter had my
son.
At the time, I worked a great, stable-paying job, but I took a huge leap
and decided to quit so I could stay home and raise my son. I always
thank my husband because, truly, what came next in life could not have
happened easily without him supporting the family while I figured things
out.
When my son was a few months old, I decided that I no longer wanted to
just not work. I wanted to help support the family too. I quickly made
the decision to start reselling thrifted items on Facebook Marketplace
and Instagram. I came up with the business name “Bee Mine Thrifts,” and
eventually, that name changed to “Honey Bee Mine.”
THE BEGINNING OF MY FAITH JOURNEY.
During the time I was reselling, I found out that one of my favorite
country music artist's sons, 3-year-old River Smith, had drowned in an
at-home swimming pool accident. This hit me hard as a new mom. I think a
lot of the time when we hear of tragedy from someone we don’t know, we
may hurt for them, but eventually, we move on; but I could not.
For whatever reason (I know what that reason is now ),
I was drawn to River and their story. I followed the Smiths' journey
through absolute tragedy, heartbreak, and the unknown, to then choosing
to see the light and trusting God through it all.
Unknowingly and unintentionally, I was learning and growing closer to
God myself. I never followed their story because I wanted to grow my
faith, but God used their story to do just that. He had made His way
into my heart, and I felt the transformation taking place.
Soon, I began to see God in everything. I looked at things differently,
felt things deeper, and wanted to get to know Him more.
A couple of years into reselling thrifted items, I ran into my first
conviction and started to feel terrible. I felt like what I was doing
wasn't really helping anyone. I wasn't making any kind of impact; it was
all just for quick money, and that's not what I wanted. But I also have
a passion for business and didn’t want to give it up, so I rebranded
completely.
After rebranding a couple of times, trying to figure out what I wanted
to do and what felt right, I was led to Christian apparel. I felt good
putting my Christian designs on clothing, and I was excited to share it
with the world.
MY SECOND CONVICTION.
I sold Christian apparel for a couple of years as well and soon started
to feel conviction over this too, which truly confused me. I felt
frustrated, but I knew why. It was because, again, money. I began to
focus too much on money.
Keeping inventory on hand and buying the supplies needed slowly but
surely ran me into debt, and I was starting to panic. Eventually, I
became too worried about making my credit card payment instead of
worrying about sharing the Word of Jesus. So I sadly put that chapter
behind me and trusted that God had other, better plans for me.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
This all leads up to where I am today.
I took a step back from apparel, did lots of praying, and came to the
conclusion that I needed to go back to the roots of the business, the
roots of my childhood, what I always wanted to do, and the reason I
started the Christian clothing business “Honey Bee Mine.”
Jesus and art.
Hand-drawn, painted art. Just me, my paintbrush, and Jesus, letting my
ideas flow from Him, through me, out on paper. Taking my time, praying
that through my hands God reaches others, putting my main focus on the
message rather than profit.
I still don't know what the future holds, where I am headed, and the
plans God has for me, but I am choosing to enjoy the ride, trust Him,
and pray that He uses me to share His Word and His light.
I am grateful.
Thank you, God, for working in my life as you have. For giving me the
gift of creativity and planting a dream in my heart, for holding my hand
through all of the hardships I endured before I even knew you as I do
now, for working through other people, for turning tragedy into beauty,
for your patience, grace, and unconditional love. Thank you for never
giving up and for meeting me where I was. Your plans are perfect, and
Your timing is perfect, even when I don’t understand. All praise and
glory go to you, my Lord and creator of all. Thank you. Amen.
And to those taking the time to read, thank you for all of the support and being here on this journey with us.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.