New International Version
“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. My Father, the late,  Reverend J.E.Thomas  said to me, and God be my witness , “Evelyn, if I should die, I know with that call on your life, would you do Daddy a favor?” Yes Daddy.. “Would you continue to stand and preach the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ and sing unto God’s glory?” “Yes, Daddy”, as we continue to praise God loudly in the privacy of his private Hospital room at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, which I stayed so many days and nights helping care for my Father… I said: “Daddy, it’s good that you asked,  because I have no choice in the matter if I want to continue to live and fulfill God’s will for my life and reach my destiny” He said: “Can we pray?”  I said nothing but immediately began to cry out to God, as we  praised and worshiped, touching and agreeing in Jesus Name in prayer that God’s will be done for the both of our lives.. He looked at me and said, : “Would you be fool enough to agree with me and God that he is going to heal me?”  I said: “Yes Daddy I will, because I know you are a Man- of- Faith,  and he began to elaborate to me about the great bible story of “Hezekiah”, and he went into full details about Hezekiah’s  disbelief , and how God added 15 years into Hezekiah’s  life after he decided to trust God with his life. He then looks at me and said: “I believe that God is going to add 20 more years on to my life”  I stood in agreement with him that God would do just what Dad had requested and proceeded to take full control of his medical decisions as we began to go over his Final Five Wishes , which are referred to in the medical field as “Advance Directives“.  This document is in place so the patient can free willingly choose three people  that were capable of carrying out  the person’s desire to make quality care decisions of the patient’s  choice , when they are no longer able or coherent enough to  make rational decisions for themselves.  Advance Directives, entails the kind of medical treatment a person wants or don’t want.  How comfortable they want to be, and how they want people to treat them and what do they want my loved ones to know.  He did that, and as his health began to deteriorate rapidly, I took charge of most  of his health care decisions as Power Attorney number one.

There were times that he got temporary  breakthroughs, and  then he  was able to make some decisions for himself when he was at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Nevertheless, I would take the time discuss with him in detail what each modality consisted so he would understand and know about each decision he would make would entail. He said out of his own mouth, and it was written word-for-word on his five wishes, signed by him, and witnessed by two people that were not related to us that he wanted to fight the good fight of faith, and have everything done necessary medically that would help him to tough it out until  the  appointed time when God said, not man, it was his time to leave this earth, which is not our home.   We almost made through what he wished until his attending hospitalist ( doctor)  of his medical group  felt the need to move me out of his way, so he could convince Dad and his family that at this point that he had reached,that they felt strongly that  he should go to hospice.  They were offerring hospice when he was fully ambulating, and I made it clear and had it noted in the records that he was not interested at that time to go to hospice ever.  I want you all to know that I  fought down to the end by myself because he asked me too when he was in his right faculties to stand by him in faith and just believe God at his word.  I refused to take part in that part of the process sending him to hospice, but they did anyways and started the process without my signature as power attorney number one, and then and only then when things started looking bad at Earlwood Convalescent Hospital which is right behind Torrance Memorial.  I made a conscious decision by myself as power attorney number one  to have him transferred to Torrance Memorial to to do everything necessary for him to be stabilized to  carry out  all of his final five wishes, and they  were ALL fulfilled because I refused to take NO for an answer.

Nevertheless,  he did fight it out down to the end, and the day they decided to transport him to hospice is the day he died!!!  December 22, 2013.   They moved me out of the way, and refused to let me transfer my father from their facility at Torrance Memorial Hospital, and I was livid.  After which, they were walking around the hospital showing people and anyone who come to visit my Dad my picture as if I was going to harm someone for only wanting to be by my Dad’s side and carry out my father’s wishes.   This bizarre behavior on the behalf of a healthcare provider  is Unheard of ,  and I’m certain of that because I’ve been in the Medical Field for most of my entire career.  I was very upset at the fact that Dad was not capable at the time to say barely anything we could understand being that he had been on a ventilator induced into a comma for about two consecutive weeks.

If that was not bad enough, I had people fighting against me to carry out his wishes not working on one accord.  Yes, it got ugly the day before with a family member who said that my Dad had been dead to her two weeks ago because he slept on a ventilator in the day while he underwent several intense medical procedures.  What she did not know because she was too busy trying to create a story that I would describe almost down to the tee like Cain and Able.

Whoooo… Sigh of relief. Back to real matter which is Dad’s Faith and how he worked so hard to everything he could to stay alive with the care he had received.

For the most part, Dad  preached  the good fight of “F-A-I-T-H”  for over 50+ years of his entire life, and that  was his ultimate Gospel message that he mastered and preached and he never failed to take it to the cross, believing that Jesus, hung, bled and died for our sins and he rose on the third day with all power in his hands.

Rev. Thomas  (Dad) wanted no more and no less for souls to be saved and know about Jesus was what he lived for  all his life.. That is what he stood for and was really all about if you really knew him. He always made sure that NO ONE he came in contact went hungry.  He had a strong desire to work with the homeless ministry, making sure the less fortunate had food, clothes and shelter. Yes, he did just that in his lifetime!!!

Was he a perfect man?  No, but who can  you find that is completely perfect?  All I truly know is that he had a genuine heart for God and God’s people to be blessed. I serve notice to the world that “Minister Evelyn Diane Thomas”  can’t turn back now, because I have work to do in the vineyard, and I’ve come to far to give up or give in now. I must go on in Jesus name! Amen!!

Let’s reiterate again the bible story he shared with me in the book of  Isaiah 38:5 – “New International Version “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.” Dad said from his own mouth after sharing this beautiful story of someone who once did not believe, but then started trusting God by Faith for who he really was and was certain about what God the Father was capable of doing.  It was known throughout the bible that Jesus went around performing many miraculous miracles.   God is yet still performing miracles today.

Faith Without Works Is Dead