For Hendersonville single mom Morgan Wade, yarn has never been just yarn. It’s been survival, determination, and the way she keeps her two children — including her autistic, non-verbal son — clothed, cared for, and supported.

Three years ago, Morgan found herself in a difficult season. Christmas was approaching, and winter clothes for her kids felt out of reach. Refusing to give up, she taught herself to make chunky knit snowmen and pumpkins. She posted one online “just to see if anyone would even think it was cute,” and to her surprise, it took off overnight.

That tiny step of hope became the beginning of something bigger. Each year, Morgan added new skills — perfecting her snowmen, learning gingerbread creations, and growing her little handmade business. Every stitch became a reminder that she could still provide, even when life felt overwhelming.

Her days are full. Her son attends every therapy imaginable, along with school, and her two-year-old keeps her hands even fuller. Traditional work just isn’t possible right now. So Morgan works at night — knitting while her babies sleep, pushing herself to create what she needs to keep food on the table and clothes in the closet.

But this past month brought new challenges. Her family’s assistance didn’t come through, and her son aged out of WIC — which meant his daily six Pediasure drinks, at $14 a pack, were suddenly an out-of-pocket expense. Money got tight. Really tight.

Still, she didn’t stop.

One day, with only the exact amount she needed for yarn to complete holiday snowman orders, Morgan loaded both kids into one shopping cart, pulled another behind her, and headed into Hobby Lobby. She admits she looked exhausted — “like I’d been through the wringer” — but she was determined. That yarn wasn’t optional. It meant meals. It meant rent. It meant stability.

Standing in line, sweating, juggling two carts and two kids trying to escape, Morgan caught the eye of a woman about her age. Curious, the stranger asked what she was making. Morgan explained her handmade business, how she taught herself everything, and how knitting helped her support her children.

The woman didn’t have Facebook — where Morgan normally sells her creations — but she said she wanted to support her anyway. She told Morgan she had never seen someone so determined, so calm under pressure, and so committed to doing whatever it took for her children.

And then, right there in the checkout line, this stranger did something Morgan will never forget:

She bought all of Morgan’s yarn.

That act of kindness lifted a weight Morgan had been quietly carrying for weeks. It even gave her enough breathing room to buy herself a meal on the way home — a simple gift that felt like the world.

“I just want to thank her,” Morgan said. “She saw me trying my hardest, and she helped in a moment when I truly needed it. She’ll never know how much that meant.”

In Hendersonville, kindness doesn’t always look like a grand gesture. Sometimes it looks like a stranger in a checkout line, seeing a struggling mom — and deciding to help. Morgan hopes this woman sees her story and knows she turned yarn into more than handmade snowmen.

She turned it into hope.

Editor's Note: Will you help us share this story, so Morgan's "Thank You" makes it to the kind stranger? Check out our social media posts or hit the share icon on your screen.