Hello, all!!
My name is Madison Grimm and I am 21 years old. I am a licensed cosmetologist in the state of Texas and have worked with several anti-human trafficking organizations in the past year, including Free the Captives, Redeemed Ministries and Freedom Place.
I was born in Reeds Spring, Missouri and moved to Houston, Texas when I was three years old and have lived here ever since. My two amazing parents are Thadd and Pam Grimm, who have raised me to love and follow The Lord in everything I do. I have 3 super legit brothers: Ford (18), Jude (17) and Fischer (6). I have a boyfriend named Josh (21); he has been a huge influence, motivator and encourager in my life. He is constantly pushing me to ask what The Lord’s will for me is. He encourages me to follow Christ and he loves me very much. My family is the glue that holds me together.
I remember when I was about 12 years old I read Anne of Green Gables. I specifically remember a chapter early on in the book where Anne visits an old, crotchety woman whom no one in the town liked. She wasn’t afraid of confrontation. The woman was surprised that Anne visited, and Anne listened to her snide remarks and complaints without being phased; all she saw was someone who lacked love. And that’s all she needed to befriend the old woman and claim that they were “kindred spirits.” I wanted to be like Anne. I told myself I would have exactly that character as I grew up. I hope that’s how I am.
Another huge impact on my life was my mom pulling me aside one day when I was 13 and telling me that when I became a teenager, I would want to rebel against her and disobey her and want to say hateful things. I remember thinking that that was absurd and I would never do that. I guess I was so contrary in needing to prove her wrong that maybe part of that conversation helped me to have an even stronger bond with my mom through my teenage years; I never went through a “phase.”
At 15 I started CYT (Christian Youth Theater) shortly after my baby brother had been released from the hospital for a very traumatic MRSA staph infection. My faith in The Lord was renewed through the caring hearts of the kids in theater. I had never seen young people so on fire for God. That was a large turning point in my life and I re-dedicated myself to The Lord.
When I was 18 God put a passion for victims of human sex trafficking into my heart, and I spent the next three years trying to involve myself in the fight against human trafficking. It has been both traumatic and rewarding and I hope to continue fighting against one of the largest organized crimes in the world.
On my 21st birthday I went through a breakup with Josh, and through that next month The Lord opened my eyes to His will and gave me peace beyond comprehension and understanding. I again re-dedicated my life to Him and only sought after what He needed for me to do. He lead me to join the World Race. Two weeks after applying for the Race, God lead that Josh and me back together and our relationship with The Lord and each other has never been stronger, and we have learned to not rely on ourselves, but God for strength and wisdom.
I love singing (LOTS OF SINGING ALL OF THE SONGS ALL OF THEM), dancing, playing the ukulele, drawing, painting (not good at it but I like it), reading, writing, grammar, encouraging and listening to people, helping people get stuff done, organizing things….anyway. I like lots of stuff.
I feel very called to be a listener and encourager, whatever that may look like. It has changed over the years, but I still feel called to listen to and encourage victims of sex trafficking; I hope to someday be able to mentor them.
My Myers/Briggs is ENFJ. I would say I have the gift of listening, encouraging and praying; I love being happy and I love smiling. 🙂 Some of my weaknesses though are impatience, a quick temper and sometimes a snappy attitude; it’s improved over the years and I’m still working on it! Some of my strengths are that I love to look at the positive side of things; total optimist, 1,000%! I hate giving up and I will work at something until I just can’t anymore; nothing is impossible with God. The mountains I have to climb over are never too high, you just have to do it!
I would love for The Lord to use this time on the Race to grow and mature me spiritually and mentally. In the past a huge issue of mine has been stress and worry. I thank God that in the past couple of months that this literally has not been an issue; I am actually at one of my busiest points in my life and I have had pretty much 0 stress. I hope that through the Race I can learn to lean on Him and place my worries and doubts in His hands and be OK to face the unknown, as long as I am facing it with Him.
The World Race was not something I was planning on doing or thought I would ever do. But The Lord placed missions on my heart at the end of July and I knew I had to apply for the Race. I hope I will be able to grow into a better Maddie through the Race; I hope the people I meet, see and help along the way will add to my growth, knowledge and wisdom. I pray that The Lord uses these people and is able to use me on this journey.
I ask that you pray God will give me the tools to cope with being away from my family, friends and boyfriend for such an extended period of time. I ask that you pray for strength, wisdom and peace for all of us. This will not only be a trial and time of growth for me, but for them, as well. We must all be in constant searching for Christ. My worry is that I will get too caught up in the past and missing the people I love, that I won’t be able to effectively love the people right in front of me. Pray for guidance for my teammates and me, as well as my family and Josh; that would be a huge, continuous blessing to us.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my bio.
In Christ,
Madison Grimm
