Faith over Fear

Last month, a new customer came into our store. She was very upset. She had ordered a special, custom made gift online. When the item arrived, it was nothing like she had requested. All she could do was cry.

The gift was for a local principal, Josh Wandell, who has been battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. He is very beloved by his students, the staff and the parents and has been an inspiration to the entire Carter County community and beyond. He was diagnosed in 2013 and given five short years to live.

It was important to our customer, the children, and the community that Mr. Wandell be given something very special this Christmas. She asked us if there were some way to improve upon the gift. She described her ideas to us. We asked her to leave the item with us so we could brainstorm, and to return before the store closed. While we couldn't improve on the item she left us, we made a new one, putting all our creativity into it. 

“Faith over Fear” has been Mr. Wandell's motto since his diagnosis. 

 

The inspiration for his motto is from the Biblical book of Joshua 1:9:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

When our customer returned, she was thrilled with the stocking and the design. After learning the story of a man filled with heroic faith and courage and the community who love him, we handed the stocking to her, blessed that we were a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. Merry Christmas from Sew Vac & Long Arm Quilting.

Our stocking on the left