In his eulogy at Whitney Houston’s funeral, Bishop T.D. Jakes spoke of the lessons one could learn from Whitney Houston, and on Monday, The Potter’s House pastor explained further, listing the spiritual lessons to be had from the life and untimely passing of singing sensation Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston was “a child of God and embraced that posture throughout her life,” Jakes wrote in his column for The Huffington Post, referencing Houston’s upbringing in a Baptist church where she also sang in the choir. In fact, Jakes writes, “she never strayed far from her Baptists roots” at any point in her life.
The Christian Post points out that Jakes believes Houston’s life serves as an example of the benefits of learning faith early on in life. Thus, from Houston’s life one learns to “find comfort as parents that faith instilled in our small children is a long term investment that will benefit them as they face the varied challenges of their adult life.”
Jakes also speaks to Houston’s family connectedness and the strong relationship she had with her daughter, Bobbi Christina, and her mother, Cissy Houston. He writes that Houston embodied Christian values because “family was her bedrock, her source of strength, [and] comfort.” He makes note of the family’s “fiercely protective cross-generational love that incubated and informed who [Whitney] was.”
The Potter’s House pastor also noted that Houston “was a woman of deep and abiding prayer” and was “known for gathering her friends and colleagues in an impromptu circle to petition God.”
Jakes closed by discussing the “indelible impression [Houston made] on the hearts and minds of everyone who experienced her immense talents.” He also explains that those who survive the pop legend can look to her life as an example and “find hope that our dreams are more than inspiration but mixed with determination and steadfast faith even the most obscure dream can be realized.”
Just as people can learn so much from Houston’s life, Jakes points out that one can learn from her death as well. Houston’s death reminds us to make each day count, as “tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us no matter the enormity of the gifts we posses.”
