Whitney Houston: A Child of God Called Home
Whitney Houston's passing has left me without words to say how I feel.
It's easy to think of her loss in terms of it being a premature dimming of an extraordinarily bright star in the music firmament. But we forget she was somebody's mother, somebody's daughter, and, most of all, a child of God who struggled and was deserving of grace and mercy, just like you and me.
I don't want to speculate on how she died. I'd rather remember how she lived when she was at her best. And, to my mind, she was at her best when she was singing songs of praise. For all the people who love her version of "I Will Always Love You" as her best song, for me, my favorite Whitney Houston song is "I Love The Lord" from the soundtrack to "The Preacher's Wife." Even as she's acting you can tell she felt that song from the depth of her heart, and her voice just soars like an angel when she sings it. Only God could have created a voice like Whitney's. That the last song she sang publicly was "Yes, Jesus Loves Me" is fitting. Her singing career ended as it began, singing a song of praise that I'm sure she felt from her heart.
So that's how I will choose to remember her: A child of God at her best when singing His praises. A child of God called home.
Rest in peace, Whitney. Heaven's choir just got a whole lot better.
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4 comments:
Kirk comment: I didn't have much time to peruse this blog the last month or so, given that I just moved. Wife and I bought a house (cash only, might I add) since I figured that BWB - with her usual wise financial advice - would approve. Sure, it's in Vallejo. But we got a great deal in a very nice neighborhood.
Anyways, while I have been only a mild fan of Whitney's over the years, I'm naturally saddened that such a talent died at a young age. Hey, we all have our vices, so before you judge, "take a look at the man in the mirror" first, as someone might say.
Well, we do have Melanie Amarro to take over. I was a huge fan of hers on American Idol, and was ecstatic that she won (on the final, I voted for her 10 times I believed, until my right click finger wore out). Ms. Amarro is quite a talent as well - and reminds me of Whitney - and I was shocked when Ms. Amarro got cut, but very happy when Simon wised up and made a business trip to Florida to make amends.
Kirk
Vallejo
I compleely agree with you. Like you I loved her praise songs (and everything on the Preacher's Wife). When I heard of her death, my heart went out to her mom and her daughter - because a girl needs her mama and no mama should suffer and lose her child. I also remember being a young black woman and soooo excited to see her on 17 Magazine.
Kirk,
Congrats on the new home! Cash only -- that would make my late grandfather proud! That's a very good reason not to be following up on what ol' BWB has to say. I'm not familiar with Melanie Amarro -- I stopped watching AI a while back -- but I don't think there's ever going to be another one like Whitney.
Again, congrats on the new digs.
BWB
BWB,
Looks like I got her name misspelled - I guess it is "Melanie Amaro" - and I got the show wrong as well - it was the X Factor and not American Idol. Well, only a couple of mistakes on a post. . . .
I watch almost zero "reality" TV, since I think that it is boring and has nothing to do with reality, but I am addicted to both American Idol and the X Factor. I like watching Simon let it rip sometimes (I think he's misunderstood, and a very good judge of who has star potential). Also, I became a fan of Jennifer Lopez after watching her on AI; she's a lot nicer gal than I thought before.
I actually think that Melanie might be a better talent than Whitney, and may become a bigger star. Yeah, yeah; you've heard that before. But Melanie is actually somewhere between Mariah Carey (who I believe is technically marvelous but I wouldn't buy her records) and Whitney (I liked her singing voice but her lyrics were a bit mushy for me, I have to admit). Well, time will tell if I'm right about Melanie.
Well, glad I might make someone proud! After the last house in Seattle, I told the wife, "No mortgage, never again!" (I always groan when I hear so-called financial "experts" say: "Don't pay off your mortgage. Use that money instead to make investments and you'll make more money." Well, great story, except events such as 2008 come around and devour half your money. And the peace of mind of no monthly mortgage, let alone feeling like you won't get kicked out of the house, are well worth it. Now there's some investment advice!)
Kirk
Vallejo
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