121 Stories - A Mother's Love
Brandi and Maddie Share Their Story Of Keeping Their Faith During Trials.
May 14, 2023 4m
Brandi and her daughter Maddie share their story of keeping their faith during the trials the faced. They share how they have continued to grow in their faith with the support of the community at 121. Video recorded at Grapevine, Texas.
TranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
Brandi: [00:00:03] So when Maddie was pretty young, we had to unexpectedly leave our home and move to another city, move to another school, and we had to basically start over. It was very, very difficult, we weren't able to go back home, it was a dangerous situation. We got to see God meet us all along the way. She grew up in a household where one parent believed and one didn't, and I wasn't really allowed to take her to church. But I had a strong faith from when I was young, and they got to see that in me. And when we left home and had nothing but just a change of clothes and hit the road and we didn't know where we were going to go, they got to see that faith played out. God opened so many doors for us, to where we were going to stay for the night, to a friend opening up their home for us to stay with them permanently, to just a cheerful song coming on the radio when we needed it the most because we were upset or crying.
Maddie: [00:01:05] For the past four years, I've been wanting to join the military, the Navy specifically. And then I get talking to these recruiters and everything and I decide, oh, that's not the choice, so I choose the army. And then we're getting into it, I'm really excited and I start realizing all these like, doubts with that and how scary it can be and all the issues that can come with it. And I'm thinking, you know, is it going to be difficult for me to join the Army as a female, as a young female? I talked to my recruiter, and he basically explained that it was going to be okay. And I was like, okay, all right, is it?
Brandi: [00:01:42] She's had to persevere so much early in her life that I think she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up very young, and she came to us when she was a sophomore in high school and said, I want to graduate a year early. And I realized this may be a path God has set for her. And I really need to let go and let God. My husband immediately said, I think we need to spend some quality time together, so he suggested that we go on a women's retreat together. Which I've never been to before, it's always been a difficult time of year for me to go, but this is the only chance that I may have to spend some quality time at a place where she can be refreshed before going off into the world and doing big things.
Brandi: [00:02:38] On the first night of worship, we sang a song that I cannot sing without crying. And that was a sign to me too, that God was saying he was there. It's a song we sing, I don't know the name of it, it's a song we sing in worship, but it says, all my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good. And God was telling me I've always been here, you know, has there ever been a time I wasn't faithful? He has always been faithful to us.
Brandi: [00:03:09] The speaker that spoke was an amazing woman named Laura, and that night, she called Maddie up on stage and told everybody what Maddie was going to be doing and then prayed over her, all of the women that were there from 121 prayed over her. That was another way of God telling me, I see you, I see her.
Maddie: [00:03:36] And it will be okay.
Brandi: [00:03:37] And he'll be with her as much as he'll be with me.
Maddie: [00:03:42] I just felt really, I don't know, loved, hugged, another big hug by the church.
Brandi: [00:03:51] When she was little, she used to say, our church is like a big hug.
Maddie: [00:03:54] Yeah, there's a lot of people out there rooting for me. There are a lot of people who are going to be faithfully with me all the way through.
Brandi: [00:04:03] She's everything a mother could ever want in a daughter. She's, if I had asked God for the perfect daughter, he granted me that. And I know that parenthood is a struggle, I've had struggles, but Maddie has been pure joy, pure joy. I am lucky to have been given the opportunity to be her mother. I love you.
Maddie: [00:04:27] I love you, too.
Brandi: [00:04:29] Oh, you know, you're amazingly strong.
Maddie: [00:04:33] I get it from you.
Recorded in Grapevine, Texas.
Maddie: [00:01:05] For the past four years, I've been wanting to join the military, the Navy specifically. And then I get talking to these recruiters and everything and I decide, oh, that's not the choice, so I choose the army. And then we're getting into it, I'm really excited and I start realizing all these like, doubts with that and how scary it can be and all the issues that can come with it. And I'm thinking, you know, is it going to be difficult for me to join the Army as a female, as a young female? I talked to my recruiter, and he basically explained that it was going to be okay. And I was like, okay, all right, is it?
Brandi: [00:01:42] She's had to persevere so much early in her life that I think she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up very young, and she came to us when she was a sophomore in high school and said, I want to graduate a year early. And I realized this may be a path God has set for her. And I really need to let go and let God. My husband immediately said, I think we need to spend some quality time together, so he suggested that we go on a women's retreat together. Which I've never been to before, it's always been a difficult time of year for me to go, but this is the only chance that I may have to spend some quality time at a place where she can be refreshed before going off into the world and doing big things.
Brandi: [00:02:38] On the first night of worship, we sang a song that I cannot sing without crying. And that was a sign to me too, that God was saying he was there. It's a song we sing, I don't know the name of it, it's a song we sing in worship, but it says, all my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good. And God was telling me I've always been here, you know, has there ever been a time I wasn't faithful? He has always been faithful to us.
Brandi: [00:03:09] The speaker that spoke was an amazing woman named Laura, and that night, she called Maddie up on stage and told everybody what Maddie was going to be doing and then prayed over her, all of the women that were there from 121 prayed over her. That was another way of God telling me, I see you, I see her.
Maddie: [00:03:36] And it will be okay.
Brandi: [00:03:37] And he'll be with her as much as he'll be with me.
Maddie: [00:03:42] I just felt really, I don't know, loved, hugged, another big hug by the church.
Brandi: [00:03:51] When she was little, she used to say, our church is like a big hug.
Maddie: [00:03:54] Yeah, there's a lot of people out there rooting for me. There are a lot of people who are going to be faithfully with me all the way through.
Brandi: [00:04:03] She's everything a mother could ever want in a daughter. She's, if I had asked God for the perfect daughter, he granted me that. And I know that parenthood is a struggle, I've had struggles, but Maddie has been pure joy, pure joy. I am lucky to have been given the opportunity to be her mother. I love you.
Maddie: [00:04:27] I love you, too.
Brandi: [00:04:29] Oh, you know, you're amazingly strong.
Maddie: [00:04:33] I get it from you.
Recorded in Grapevine, Texas.
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