Brandon Wales knows a thing or two about waiting. Any hunter does. But when it came to launching Be Still, a Christian outdoor apparel line years in the making, the Feliciana-area entrepreneur learned that patience isn't just a virtue. It's a business model.

"Everybody has a bad day," Wales says. "The idea is to stop, be still, and know that God's got it."

That sentiment, drawn from Psalm 46:10, became the foundation for a clothing line that puts Scripture directly into the camouflage pattern itself. The company's signature "Armor of God" camo features biblical imagery woven into the design, creating what Wales hopes will be a conversation starter in deer stands and duck blinds across Louisiana.

"You don't even have to say a word," he explains. "Someone sees it and asks, 'What's that?' And now you've started a conversation."

Determined to manufacture in the United States, Wales spent months searching for a designer who could handle the technical demands of textile printing. Eventually, he found a specialist who could produce the precise repeating pattern camo requires.

The effort has already paid off in unexpected ways. A friend going through cancer treatment spotted a Be Still hat, not knowing it belonged to Wales's company. The message carried him through some of his hardest days and eventually led him back to reading Scripture.

"So much going on in this world," Wales says. "We need a lot more of Jesus."

As a Christian-based business, Be Still is committed to tithing, with 50 percent of this year’s proceeds going to Our Lady of Assumption and Feliciana Baptist Church. Wales knew revenue would be modest at first, but says that made giving more important, not less.

Be Still apparel is available locally at Sylvester Outdoor Supply in Clinton and online. The business is still young, operating on faith as much as profit margins — and for Wales, that’s exactly the point.

"It'll happen in God's time," Wales says. "You just keep pushing through."