Remembering Whitney Houston
1963-2012
If you want to know about her accolades, how many Grammies she won or about her career on screen…this is not the place- In this place I’m going to recall the person I met long ago when I was a young girl with a dream.
At that time, Whitney Houston was everything I aspired to be. She was beautiful, talented, and walking in her anointing. Then, she acknowledged her voice as a gift and although she would go from singing in church, to being a background vocalist to superstar status, she always acknowledged her voice was a gift from God and He received all the glory when she used it.
Tonight, as I learned about her passing, it bought more than tears to my eyes and pain to my heart- it was a wake up call of epic proportion. Life is too short; there’s simply no time to be complacent! I’ve said it a million times (and this news serves as evidence) the enemy is real and he is relentlessly after our relationship with God.
Whitney Houston was not a drug addict, someone without morals, without hope and depressed. The devil is a liar and he painted her with the colors of her disobedience and destroyed the portrait of who she truly was and could have been to God’s glory.
The Bible says that the devil comes to rob, steal and destroy and if you believe that you can outsmart, outrun or hide from the wiles of this world, you are wrong. There is not a reason on this earth why a gift and talent such as hers should be equated with waste…this is Satan at his best and I refuse to glorify his trickery of death by not honoring her light and God’s light in her.
I pray tonight that Whitney’s light far outshine the shadow of her sudden death. I pray for Bobbi Kristina, Sissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Brown and the host of other family members, friends and colleagues she left behind too soon. I pray tonight for Whitney to have found the peace that eluded her in this realm and I hope in faith that her death will not be in vain but instead serve as an example to the millions of ‘wanna be’ divas, fans, friends and family members that consequences can be fatal and the idea of tomorrow is gift and not a promise.
I need to thank Whitney Houston for her mentoring when I wanted to sing. It’s not many recording artist who would take a complete stranger under her wing, even for a day, to show them the ropes and a birds eye view of the business I was pursuing. John Houston arranged for what will remain one of the most memorable days of my life and the lessons I learned that day I carry with me always. Whether it were singing All at Once for my Commercial Jazz final at Five Towns College or singing You Give Good Love to my husband, her music freed me and gave me confidence and belief that I could be talented and beautiful too.
One of my favorite childhood memories is being downstairs in my basement, singing Saving All My Love and my mother yelling at the top of the stairs, “Nidicka, turn that radio off!” I smiled and yelled up the stairs- “That’s me singing Ma, the radio is not on”…My mother mistook me singing for Whitney playing on the radio and in that moment I could see myself sharing my gift with millions one day, just like she was sharing with me by her example.
Glory to God, my life went in another direction and hopefully my gift that I am sharing with the world via this ministry is well received. I honor my memory of you Whitney- I remember your tenacity, your fire, your spirit and especially your voice. The gift of your life made me dream but the reality of your death will make me pursue righteousness. Rest in Peace and I will always love you…
