Forever in Our Hearts: The Life, Faith and Legacy of Christina Grimmie

By Thomas Mockoviak

Forever in Our Hearts: The Life, Faith, and Legacy of Christina Grimmie tells the story of a faith-filled woman whose short life left a lasting impression and impact on the lives of those who knew her and followed her singing career. Christina's love for her family, friends, and fans was surpassed only by her deep and lasting love for Jesus and her Christian faith. Her life reflected the values and morals she learned from reading and living the Bible, one of her favorite books. In spite of her short time on this earth, she has left a lasting legacy of love, hope, and inspiration for all to emulate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646705962

Book preview

A Word of Caution

In writing the biography of Christina Grimmie, it was important that I tell her story as completely and accurately as possible. In order to do that, it was necessary to include details about her last day on this Earth and the manner in which she died. It was especially difficult for me to research and write about her passing, but as a result, I have attained a much greater appreciation and compassion for the Grimmies and, now, more fully understand the horror and grief that they had to endure.

I know how upsetting it may be for many of you who followed her career for so many years to read about the tragedy of that day, and I freely admit that, many times, while conducting my research and writing, I found myself weeping and mourning her loss. For this reason, I decided that chapters 1 and 2 would cover the day of her death and the days immediately following.

If you believe that it may be too upsetting to read about her death, I encourage you to skip over these two chapters. Chapters 3 through 12 cover the rest of her life, starting with her birth and then covering her childhood, her career, and eventually the creation of the foundation that bears her name.

Thomas Mockoviak

Introduction

Once in a while, I like to pick a song at random and listen to how various artists sing that song. One of the most convenient ways I have found to do this is by watching videos on YouTube. The song that I had picked that twenty-second day of May 2016 was my favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night. I especially love Kerrie Roberts’s rendition of that song, and I listen to it year round.

As I listened to and watched the videos performed by various artists and YouTubers, I saw Christina’s video of O Holy Night on the sidebar queue and decided to listen to her version next. But as I moved the cursor to select her video, I noticed another video of hers immediately below O Holy Night. It was Christina’s cover of In Christ Alone, a song that has very special meaning for me, so I selected that one to view instead. As I listened to Christina talk about the song she was about to sing, she declared this to be one of her all-time favorite songs. I immediately sensed that Christina was someone very special, as she shared a love for Jesus that I too have. I was determined to find out more about this individual and her faith. Little did I realize at that moment in time that this was God’s calling to me to embark on a mission that I never would have imagined accepting.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning that twenty-ninth day of October 2016. As I drove south on Route 73 in southern New Jersey, the sun was shining brightly, and there was a gentle breeze in the cool, crisp air. As I approached the exit for Route 30, I was only minutes away from my destination, the Berlin Cemetery. Turning onto Route 30 North, I drove a few hundred feet to the Clementon Road exit. In less than a minute, the cemetery was in view on my right side. I drove to the end of the cemetery and turned onto Hayes Avenue. There was an entrance about midway, just as I had been told there would be, and I turned in to the driveway and parked my car. I exited and started walking towards Route 30, glancing at the names on the headstones, finding the one that I was seeking.

It had only been a little more than five months since I had discovered her on YouTube, and now, here I was, standing at the grave of Christina Victoria Grimmie, the gifted and talented singer who had touched my heart and whose life was tragically ended less than three weeks after I had learned of her. In the short time that I had become aware of her, I had come to admire and respect Christina greatly. She was beloved by so many and for good reason. She genuinely loved her family, friends, and fans with a love that went so much deeper than the superficial love expressed by society. She loved everyone with an unconditional love—an agape love. It didn’t matter to her what you identified yourself as, whether you were gay or straight, what race you were, or what religion you professed. It didn’t matter to her what you looked like; if you were rich or poor, popular or outcast. She loved everyone the same—with the love of Christ. Even after her death, that love is still very much alive and evident. So many people were touched and inspired by Christina, and I too have been inspired by that very same love. While at the grave, I spent some time in prayer for her family, her friends, and all of her loved ones that God would comfort them and strengthen them in their time of sorrow. I also asked God to help them to know that He would restore joy to their lives.

While much has already been written about Christina Grimmie on the Internet and in news articles, little has been published that speaks of her love for Jesus and the faith that she held so dear to her heart. I have sensed that God wanted me to tell of her devotion to Him and to encourage others to be strong in their faith. In doing so, I have found that my own faith has been strengthened, and I have been much bolder in proclaiming my faith. Sometimes, God takes us out of our comfort zones so that we may grow, not just in our faith but in our relationships as well. Christina knew that as well and even spoke of it in some of her online chats with her fans.

In answering God’s call to me to take on the task of writing this biography, one of the challenges I faced was to maintain my determination to keep Christina’s legacy and memory from fading into obscurity. That would not be an easy task to fulfill, and I found myself, at times, wanting to give up. There were so many obstacles to overcome, but I found the strength and encouragement I needed from God through Christina, that same strength and encouragement she had given to others. It was as if she knew that, someday, I would need her loving reassurance and inspiration to endure the difficulties, hardships, and emotional trials that I would be faced with in attempting to write this book. Though she is no longer physically with us in this world, her love and caring ways will always remain with us, as long as we keep her memory and her faith alive in our hearts and minds.

It is my hope and prayer that I have been faithful to God in following His calling for me. I also pray that this biography presents a true depiction of Christina’s life and her faithfulness to God in the manner in which God intended. May all who read this biography be inspired by Christina’s life and love and be blessed by Almighty God.

About the Passages from the Bible that Appear in This Book

Each of the chapters of this book begins with a verse from the Bible. I selected the particular verse based upon its relevance to the chapter. There are passages that appear within the body of some of the chapters as well. Because Christina Grimmie frequently talked about her personal relationship with Jesus, her Lord and Savior, I felt it was necessary to include passages from the Scriptures that she cherished so much.

Her personal relationship with Jesus defined who she was, and it was reflected in how she lived her life. Christina was not one to get in your face about her beliefs but, rather, was one to let you know where she stood in matters of faith and leave the rest to God. I decided that I would follow her example and write this book with a similar approach. I have presented the verses to let you know her more fully and will leave the rest to you and God. I realize that not everyone believes in God and not everyone accepts the teachings presented in the Bible. It is important, however, to understand that Christina made many decisions based upon her beliefs, some that affected her career, so I encourage everyone to read the verses regardless of your beliefs. Some will say that she was foolish to stick to biblical principles since it resulted in her losing some important opportunities while others praised her for staying true to her beliefs. I have decided not to take sides on this matter or any other controversial matters related to Christina’s life and death in this account, since I want to present an unbiased and factual account of her life.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the method for locating and citing passages from the Bible, I will attempt to explain it for you. The Bible is divided into the Old and New Testaments, consisting of a total of sixty-six books in Protestant versions and seventy-three books in Catholic versions. In order to locate a particular verse from the Bible, each of the books of the Bible is divided into chapters, and those chapters are further divided into verses. Each chapter is numbered, as well as the verses. When you see a citation such as John 3:16, it is directing you to the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16. If you see a citation such as Psalm 23:1–3, it is directing you to the book of Psalms, chapter 23, verses 1 through 3. The books of Obadiah, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude are exceptions, as there is only one chapter in each of those books. With these books, only the book and verse are cited, so if you see a citation such as Obadiah 16, it is directing you to the book of Obadiah, verse 16.

Occasionally, you may find a citation that may look something like this: Luke 5:26a. That usually indicates the verse consists of more than one sentence. The use of the letter a in this example indicates that only the first sentence of that verse is being cited. If you see a reference such as 2 Chronicles 7:14, this means that there is more than one book with that name. The number 2 at the beginning in this example means that you will find the passage in the second book.

Unless noted otherwise, the passages quoted herein, whether in the main body or in footnotes, are from the Life Application Bible, New International Version, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and Zondervan Publishing House. As a practicing Catholic, it may seem odd to my fellow Catholics that I used a Protestant Bible for quoting Scriptures. I opted to use the New International Version since it is the version the Grimmie family uses and the one that Christina was most familiar with.

Sometimes God allows terrible things to happen in your

life and you don’t know why. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trusting him.

—Tweeted by Christina Victoria Grimmie (February 21, 2013)

Keep your faith in the foreground.

Posted by Christina Grimmie on her Facebook page, June 9, 2016—the day before her death

Chapter 1

Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

—Matthew 24:42

Friday, June 10, 2016, started out as many other days had. It was a sunny, warm day in Orlando, Florida. People were going about their business, looking forward to the end of the work day and the beginning of the weekend. Many had their plans made and were eager to start their weekend activities, including those who would be attending a concert that night at the Plaza Live. Even for Christina Grimmie, this day began as many others had when she was on tour, and today, she was on her tour bus making her way to Orlando. This was Christina’s eighty-second professional concert—the fourth one in the State of Florida and her third concert in the City of Orlando.

Looking back, her first concert in Florida had been the evening of Thursday, June 26, 2014, when she performed with Jacquie Lee, Will Champlin, Dia Frampton, Jake Worthington, and Jake Barker at the Au-Rene Theater, Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. Christina had been excited and ecstatic to be touring so soon after her appearances on The Voice. She was not only singing but also meeting her many adoring fans in person and interacting with them. The following day, June 27, the same group of artists and Christina traveled to Orlando to perform that night at the Bob Carr