A good friend is gone!

Jay Christie passed away yesterday morning, April 17, 2009. He was only forty eight years old. It was a hard day for me.

Charlotte and I have known Jay for over twenty years. We taught a Sunday School class for single adults and Jay was a leader in that group. Jay has done well as a professional working with Mercer Human Resource Consulting and twelve years ago he married Robyne whom he loved dearly.

We have reconnected in the last few years since we are now at First Baptist Church. When we first met Jay he was young, strong and healthy. But, what has defined much of his life has been a long list of physical problems including two kidney transplants and two rounds of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. We have walked with him through many of the hard times.

This week I was able to stop by his room in the SICU unit. Jay was already in a coma and we were not able to talk. I prayed earnestly for God to reach down and heal him. There were many others doing the same thing. God in His wisdom had different plans. I will admit that I often do not understand why God does things the way He does. So, I will trust Him now and ask Him why one day when everything will be much clearer.

Sometimes it seems trite to say, "he's in a better place." But he really is. What helped me the most was a story that a lady at church told me. She said that Friday morning around two or three in the morning, she was awake and praying for Jay when she saw something in the corner near the ceiling that looked like Jay, clothed in radiant white followed by what looked like angels. He turned and said, 'take care of Robyne for me.' Then he was gone. It reminded me that there is another dimension to life that we cannot see. Jay is no longer struggling. He is no longer taking any medications. He feels good! He is more than happy, he is filled with heartfelt joy. It told me that God really did have better plans for Jay.

It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 8:18-21:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We who are believers really can look forward to being in 'a better place.'




OBITUARY

CHRISTIE, Phillip Jay Jr., born December 12, 1961, passed into the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on April 17, 2010. Jay is survived by his wife, Robyne Bentley Christie; his beloved puppies, Nalani and Noah; parents, Phillip and Frances Christie; sister, Peggy Elfers and her husband, Steve; and nieces, Caroline and Catherine. He is also survived by in-laws, Clayton and Sunny Bentley, Lynne and Steve Smith; and nephews, Phillip and William Smith. He graduated with honors from the College of William & Mary and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He was employed for 22 years at Mercer Human Resources Consulting. Jay lived his life as a humble man with a high level of integrity. The Lord came first in his life, followed by Robyne and the rest of his family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to UNOS.