Madison grew up in a home full of music, laughter, and faith. A mom who lit up every room. A dad who made her laugh. Parents who made sure she knew God from a very young age.
Madison was only 16 when her life completely changed. In the span of five months, both of her parents were gone. She was an only child. A pandemic was just beginning. And she had every reason to walk away from everything she had been taught to believe.
She didn’t.
This is the story of a young woman whose greatest loss became the very thing that proved what her parents had built in her. And how the faith she inherited became the faith she chooses to lean on every day.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 “I’m Still Here”: The Faith That Held
01:35 Meet Madison: Psychology Grad, Choir Leader, Future Teacher
03:08 The Parents Who Made Her Childhood
08:07 What Her Mom Always Told Her About God
09:41 The Call That Changed Everything
13:35 The Night Before Her Mom Passed — She Still Wanted to Perform
17:29 Life at 16: Rocks Tied to Her Everywhere She Went
20:06 “The Choir Was the Only Thing That Made Sense”
22:16 How Tragedy Deepened Her Faith 27:25 — Her Dad Was Already Sick
30:10 Five Months Later: Her Dad Never Came Home
36:23 What She Said to God After Losing Both Parents
38:06 “God Must See Something in Me That I Don’t Understand Yet”
38:33 The Toughest Part: Every Change at Once
43:03 How She Stayed Sane Through the Pandemic
46:29 Milestones: The Ones She’ll Never Share With Them
48:39 Her Birthday and Why She Hated It
49:20 Her Therapist’s Reframe: Living Because They Lived
51:09 When Grief Hits Now
52:09 If I Got Through That, Why Can’t I Get Through Anything Else?
52:59 Why She Majored in Psychology
53:56 Advice for Anyone in a Season of Grief
55:11 Where She Is in Her Healing
57:26 The Purpose to Her Pain
01:00:09 Advice to Young People: Give Your Parents a Chance
01:01:38 How She Lives Now: With Intention
01:03:11 “There Has Always Been Something God Left for Me”
01:04:05 Why Acceptance Changes Everything
01:05:35 “You Could Take Everything From Me. I Would Still Have My Faith.”
01:10:37 Her Dreams for the Future
01:11:29 What Kind of Mom She Hopes to Be
01:12:12 Why She Said Yes to This Podcast
01:14:05 Rapid Fire: Favorite Memories With Mom and Dad
01:16:00 Photos, Feelings, and Bittersweet
01:17:04 Change Is: An Opportunity to Grow
If you are in the middle of something right now and you don’t know what to say, just say what Madison said. God, I don’t know what to tell you. But you see me. I just need your help.
And even if you’re not going through anything right now, Madison’s story is a reminder for all of us to not take our loved ones for granted. To hold on tighter to the people God has placed in our lives…because we really never know what tomorrow brings.
For more Making Changes podcasts, visit incmedia.org, the INC Media app, or find it anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening, and may your change uplift you.
Mentioned in the episode:
- Faith Speaks “Lessons My Parents Taught Me” https://incmedia.org/lessons-my-parents-taught-me/
- Three Lessons I’ve Learned Through Trusting God https://incmedia.org/worried-about-the-future-trust-god-instead/
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