Madeline was a bright, young Texas girl, just shy of 15 – full of promise and in love with horses and babies. This past Good Friday, after a family gathering at their ranch in Lovelady, Texas, she was riding around in her side-by-side ATV when it turned over, pinning her beneath. Her father, Will Crawford, heard the commotion and ran to her side.
"And when we pulled up, the young men who were there had lifted the buggy off of her," says Madeline's dad, "but she was laying there just, you know … gasping for air."
Crawford says he knew right away it was a dire situation, so he started to pray.
"Jacqueline [Madeline's mom] had said 'Come hold your daughter' … and at some point it went from 'God, we're praying for healing,' to … 'God, I'll praise you through the storm, I'll praise you through the storm.' I just kept repeating."
Despite efforts to save her, Madeline died there by the lake.
Six days later, it was standing room only at the memorial service in her high school gym. Afterwards, many of the crowd followed the family down to the ranch where they laid Madeline to rest right beside her pond. Someone asked to be baptized, so Pastor Randy Weaver got in the pond and did the baptism. When he looked up, people were lining up. (See image above)
"I'm telling you, they just kept coming," the pastor tells AFN. "I looked over at Will – he and Jackie both were in the water with me. When it was all said and done, there was a total of 72 people who came down."
Madeline's mom, Jackie, now knows how God can work all things together for good. She tells AFN that now when she looks at the pond, "I see life. I don't see death. I see that's where she met the Lord."
Editor's note: Image provided by the Crawford family.
