“Ma’am, I’m sorry, your daughter was in a car accident.”

Panic gripped me. “Is she OK?”

He hesitated, then asked to come inside. My heart begged for a different answer, but his next words shattered my world.

“She didn’t survive.”

I collapsed, screaming Madison’s name, unable to process the unbearable grief. Then came the second blow. “Ma’am, JonPaul was also in the car. He didn’t survive either.”

In an instant, my daughter and her boyfriend — so full of love and promise — were gone.

Madison, just 18, was radiant, determined, full of life and eager to carve out her own path. JonPaul, 19, had dreams ahead of him, filled with laughter and love. She had a contagious laugh and a heart that embraced everyone, and he was her perfect match: he made kindness feel effortless. Together, they had found something special.

It was stolen in an instant. That night, they left their dorms for a bonfire but never made it. A reckless driver was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and speeding over 100 mph. He struck Madison’s car, ending her and JonPaul’s lives instantly and losing his own the next day.

Utterly devastated, my grief consumed me, and I questioned if God had given me a burden too heavy to bear. Loss forces people to wrestle with faith. Some turn away in anger. I clung to God more tightly. Through my darkest hours, faith became my anchor.

I had to keep moving forward — not just for myself but for Madison and my family. Her life mattered to us, and I vowed to honor her. Though the sorrow was crushing, we trusted in a greater purpose.

Even in loss, I believe in God’s plan. I may never understand why her and JonPaul were taken, but I know their journey had meaning. Yes, divine intervention exists — but so does free will. That night, the driver made his own choices. If God intervened in every fatal mistake, free will would cease to exist.

We cannot demand both control over our paths and for God to correct every misstep. Instead, we trust in his plan, even when we don’t understand it.

If you ever find yourself facing the unimaginable — a journey no parent should ever have to take, one marked by the profound loss of a child — I encourage you to lay your broken heart and overwhelming pain at the foot of the cross. Surrendering it there has been the only way my family and I have survived the unthinkable. It continues to sustain us, especially on the days when the
weight of grief is simply too heavy to carry alone.

And so, I continue forward, carrying this grief and trusting that, however painful, there is purpose in it all. To ensure Madison’s life continues to bring light, her father and I founded Madison’s Miracles Inc., a charity providing love and support to families navigating child loss. Through service and compassion, we honor her spirit.

This is my story — one of heartbreak, resilience and hope. If you are walking this path, it is my prayer that my journey in Christ brings you closer to your faith and offers you hope.