Christine Thomas
On a warm summer day, on the fifth of August in the year 1948, God gave Sarah and Briddock, a beautiful little girl, whose heart would grow to touch the lives of many. She and her sister Rebekah must have been a joy in Sarah and Briddock lives, because they went on to have 8 more children.
God creates some people who are to become very important in the world, and God creates some people who to be very special in the world. Now some would say it is better to be important than to be special, but I think when we come to the end of our days, we’re not looking back to see how important we were, but rather were we special in the lives of others. I want you to know that Christine was special in the lives of others.
When death is staring at us in the face, we do not usually take great pride in our degree from Harvard or Yale or in our position as executive vice president, nearly as much as we do from a child saying I love so much because of all that you did for me and I’m going to miss you. Christine Thomas was not created to be somebody important whose name would cover the country and the globe at large, but I’ve heard several testimonies of how few people have been more special in the way that she has touched the lives of others.
When we asked the family members to give some one or two word descriptions of Christine to let you know something about her, we heard the words, beautiful, caring, precious, very humble, sophisticated, Christian, lover of people, giver, professional, fashionable and good looking.
One of the things that made Christine incredibly special was the enormous amount of support and encouragement that she gave to those around her. She knew what it was like to carry and enormous personal burden in life, and yet managed to smile and cheer those around her. She was a woman who looked beyond her suffering to find someway to brighten somebody else’s day. She was an incredible special woman.
But nothing that happened to Christine surprised God because God was active in Christine, long before Christine became active in God. For the Scripture tells us in Psalm 139:13-16
[13] For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. [15] My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, [16] your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
God knew that Christine was going to be special from the moment she entered the world because He intended for her to be special. But God also knew that he had ordained a specific number of days for her to live, and that he fully expected her to return to Him.
We on the other hand, simply take it for granted way to often that we will always have each other around, and we fail to appreciate the incredible special people that God places in our lives. We even make the mistake of thinking that we ourselves have an indefinite number of days ahead of us that we can control and determine, but I can tell you with certainty, unless Jesus comes first, we shall all surely die and in times and methods not of our own choosing.
Christine was blessed, because she recognized that death is a certain reality for all of us and it can hit us at any moment. The Scriptures tell us that there is a way that seems right to a person, but at the end of it is death. If we are all living in order that we might some day die, then we should do a reality check to find out if we’re going to be prepared when we get to our final destination.
If we’re living simply for status, money, degrees or fame, keep in mind none of these things go out with us when we leave this world. They may make you important, but they won’t make special. Our money will be left in the bank, our degrees will hang on a wall, our fame will be forgotten, and our status will not impress Jesus who is the ultimate Judge of everything.
Let’s take a moment and look back over the life of Christine Thomas to see how to avoid living in vain and discover why we can thank God for her.
Her mom remembers her as little girl with a whole lot of determination. When she set her mind out to do something, look out world because this little black girl was going to do it. Her ambition for life showed itself early in that she was a good helper around the house. She was an excellent student in school that didn’t mind studying. She was very neat, and she always did her best to look good. She had a positive self esteem, and a can do spirit, that lifted her above many of her peers.
As a big sister, Mary, said she was just awesome. She was concerned, and she had a heart that was willing to help you you. When you were down and out, Christine could be a sister indeed that you were glad to have.
Christine had an eye for good things, but one day her eye almost failed her. It happened at the Old Glenville high school. A young 10th grader by the name of Earl was not paying attention in 8th period English class. He saw this girl who was kind of tall and skinny, but looked good and had a whole lot of potential. He made his move to approach this young girl.
Christine, like all young women, had heard of searching for a man who was tall, dark and handsome. Unfortunately for Earl, he only met two the 3 qualifications, because Christine let him know that she was not interested in short guys. Knowing there was not much he could do about his height, Earl gave up the chase.
But something clicked inside of Christine, and maybe she thought 2 out of 3 wasn’t that bad and so she gave him a call. Earl was willing to let bygones be by gones, and so began a love storty that revolved around chicken wings and McDonald’s food. By the 12th grade, nobody was nearly as beautiful to Earl as Christine was. He was drafted in the army and proposed before going to Vietnam. They got married while he was on leave and thus continued a journey that would last for 38? years.
The joy of Christine’s heart came out of this union in which she gave birth to Earl and Tushonda. Family meant a lot to her, and she was so proud of the way her family turned out. We got to ask Earl to describe what she was like as mother. She was loving, caring, and the best mom you could ask for. She was an encourager who stood beside you no matter what. She had a very big heart.
Christine was proud of her kids. She had them dressed to the nine as they grew up. But she also worked to have them become what they could be on the inside. She taught them what it was to have class, to have sophistication and to have respect for themselves and for others.
We here so much talk about Mother’s spoiling their sons and not having them do any work. Earl’s testimony is that his mother taught him to be a man, and that meant working and taking care of your responsibilities. As a young boy, when he woke up, he could see a mirror as he got out of bed. But on Saturdays the mirror always looked differently. He would open one eye at a time hoping this week it might not be there. But it was. For on Saturdays, his mother had a list of chores posted that were to be done, before playing was begun. He learned that work is a part of life.
When it came to discipline, Christine was the soft heart and Earl had the belt. She’d try to discipline the kids, without having to tell their father. But Earl was just hard headed. If he didn’t cry hard enough, Christine would pass him on to his father for a real whipping. Tushonda learned from her brother’s errors that whippings were not a good thing to get so she behaved herself
Earl also learned to appreciate his mother’s wisdom when it came to the girls in his life. She had no problem telling him, this is not the one. But when he brought home Tania, his mother gave him the thumbs up and said, now this is the one. We hear so many jokes about mother in law’s, but Tania’s testimony of Christine is that she was a wonderful mother to her, and if her husband was wrong she even take her side. She’d say, don’t let no many control you and mean it in the proper way.
Christine was a person full of life. She loved to bake and oh could she cook. She added personal touches to the birthday cakes she made for her kids. She loved going to plays. She loved collecting dolls, and boy did she love shopping. There was a reason she always looked good. She knew how to look for the best and how to put things together.
One of the first things she had to do for her husband, was to get him up to standard in his wardrobe. One of the first things to go was his underwear with the holes in them. He didn’t see any problem with them since nobody was going to see them, but Christine would have none of it. She was not going to have a man dressed to the nine on the outside hiding some holy underclothing underneath.
At a time when so many are saying where can you find a good black marriage, I wish somebody could have come by to meet Earl and Christine. They enjoyed life together. Whether they were traveling, entertaining or just planning things, they were happy to have married each other.
Now when they had their disagreements, he was usually the first to say, “I’m Sorry.” He did not believe in stretching out any argument over two and three weeks. He knew he had an excellent wife. He prayed for her and had others praying for her as well. Earl told us, “No man ever loved a woman more than I loved Christy.
Christine had a foundation in her life that sustained her through the times that were good, and the times that were hard. That faith was found in Jesus Christ.
For she began to understand what Jesus meant when he said ,, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [25] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. [26] What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Christine realized she needed a Savior. She made the decision to start living her life for Christ. She took her kids to church regardless of the condition. She had a hunger to grow in the Lord. She bought books and tapes to help her in her faith. She gave to the church so that others might learn of faith in
. This very special lady, whom God has created, is now back in the arms of God. None of us expected this day would come so soon. Just a few weeks ago, Christine was having the time of her life with her sisters and family in Chicago. That was one of God’s gifts to her and to some of you. Christine was more prepared for this day, than any of us are. It always hurts to lose a special gift, but its never wrong to lose that gift back into the hands of God.
For we as believers have the promise from Jesus himself when He said John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. [2] In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
I do not understand the ways of God, in determining the length of our years or the number of our days. We like to think the good will live a long life and the rest will have short lives. But God never said that’s the way it’s going to be.
God said something far more encouraging and filled with hope. It says in Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. God knows something about death and its purposes that we do not. Christine was one of the special saints of God. God said her death was precious in His sight. God knows that Christine’s death was not in vain. We may want an answer from God, and that’s okay. Maybe it will lead us to acknowledge who God is and what God is expecting of us. Christine knew God created her, God walked with her, and God called her to a place prepared for her .
In the bible it says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Do you realize God loves us all, but death will be the final separator between those who are living for Christ and those who are not. It’s not matter of who was good and who was bad. We all were bad, and God wants to give us all the same chance he gave to Christine . If we do not know Christ, we are condemned to eternal death.
Sometimes we don’t understand when we lose the special people in our lives. But somehow like the apostle Paul, Christine Thomas could declare the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Jesus has gone forth to prepare a place for each of us. But like Christine , we must make a choice. None of us know the day nor the hour when we shall leave this world. Christ has died on our behalf that we might have life. It’s as simple as confessing our sins, our yielding our lives to him. For in the end, the only decision that will matter is what did we do with Christ. For only what’s done for Christ will last. Her decision made her not only special, but also important. For her fame of eternity in heaven will be remembered for generations after the important people of this world have long since been wiped from the pages of history.
To those who do not know Jesus Christ, Christine Thomas will only be a memory. It will be a great memory, but still just a memory. For those who do know Christ, Christine is waiting to meet us. For the word of God clearly states, " Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men and women who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
According to the Lord’s own words, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left at the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down form heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Our God is faithful.
