Rest in Peace Whitney Houston

It is funny how the death of someone I never met can move me to grief. Like many of you, I was saddened when I heard of Whitney Houston’s death yesterday. She was a pop icon when I was a child and wowed us all with her grace and her voice. But life did not go as planned for Whitney. Fox News summed it up well when they wrote that she “reigned as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown.”

This picture to the left is the cover of what was one of my favorite albums when I was in junior high school. I choose to remember Whitney this way. My daughter walked in while I was writing this and exclaimed “She is beautiful.”  She sure was. Not only was her voice angelic, but her smile and laugh were captivating. I was absolutely shocked when her life started to spiral out of control. She just seemed too majestic and graceful to go down that road. But drug addiction does not discriminate and it will take over your life if you choose to let it in.  As I write this, no cause of death has been released.  However, addiction took its toll on Whitney like it does on so many others. I pray that her story will help others make better choices.  I pray that she is in the arms of her savior and singing with the angels.

Here is my favorite of all of Whitney’s performances. No one has topped this rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in my opinion.  Rest in peace, dear lady.