Monday, February 13, 2012

A Voice that Defined a Generation

By now I'm sure everyone has heard about the death of Whitney Houston.  The DJ on the radio station I listened to summed it up best when he said she was a "Voice that defined a Generation."  In her prime there was nobody that good rival her voice, her talent.  However, with her marriage to Bobby Brown she became a fallen star.  Her drug use and marital spats are what she was more known for in her last years.  With stints in rehab and appearances on talk shows where many wondered if she was sober I can't help but wonder if this is what she will be remembered for.  We as people have a hard time seeing past the misdeeds of  well known people after their deaths.  Often forgetting that they're just people and subject to the same bad decisions as we as ordinary folk are.

My hope would be that we remember for her contributions to music and the legacy she left behind.  That we pray for her family's healing and that she is finally at peace.  Mostly thought I hope that we don't judge her to harshly for the way she lived her life.  Sometimes we think celebrities have it all and have no reason to be happy but what we forget is that we only see what they let us see.  We don't know their demons or what they're fighting behind against closed doors.

LL Cool J opened the Grammy's with this prayer:
"Heavenly Father, we thank you for sharing our sister Whitney with us," "Today our thoughts are with her mother, her daughter and all of her loved ones. And although she's gone too soon, we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit and to have her lasting legacy of music to cherish and share forever. Amen."

And really that's what it's all about.  We are all gifts sent from God to live here on earth to touch those that we can before he calls us home.  Whitney did just that in her time here.  Her ending may not have been her shining moment but perhaps her death will help someone.

R.I.P Whitney Houston. I may not have known you personally but I knew you through your music.  Music that in one way or another helped to shape my life.  For that I thank you and remember you.  And I pray that you've found Peace and that you and Michael Jackson are putting on one Hell of a show.

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