Mifflin Dove Jr.

After the attack on Ann Romney this week by a Democratic pundit, I was heartened to see people rally around Ann Romney and other at home mothers. I was further pleased to see President and Mrs. Obama also speak out against the attack, as well as other Democratic party leaders.

Motherhood is a sacred thing. Whether women work outside the home or within, mothers deserve our respect for all that they do. Ann Romney, a woman who raised five boys, struggled with cancer and MS and still took faithful care of her family. Anyone who would attack her is just plain crazy.

This is going to be a heated presidential election season, and I hope the candidate’s spouses will be spared personal attacks. They are the ones who support their respective families while they go through this stressful season for them. I am glad that President Obama stood up today and said something similar.

As one who came of age during the 80’s, I remember and loved Whitney Houston’s many energetic and passionately sung songs. She had a well-earned ubiquitous place on the radio, and she was like another high school friend to those in my generation.

This vibrant, middle-aged singer had not lost her charm over the decades, and she was properly remembered by her music artist colleagues at the Grammy Awards the day after her passing.

The sad thing is, toxicology reports are likely to show that it was a combination of alcohol and other drugs that caused her premature and tragic death. Why do the good artists die young? It seems that success and fame alone do not meet a person’s needs. When there is emptiness, people will turn to things to fill it, and in that pop fame culture, alcohol and drugs are easy and socially accepted. Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of wonderful people due to the abuse of those substances. Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, and now, Whitney Houston—and those names are just the tip of the cliched iceberg.

I don’t know what Ms. Houston’s faith was, but as a Christian disciple, I have learned that God is the only one who can fill all of our gaps and meet all of our needs. We broken humans will look to any number of things to fill the voids and breaches within our souls, and we ALL have them. Therefore, we all need God and his son Jesus Christ.

For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. - Psalm 107:9 (ESV)

Whitney Houston is in my prayers this week. I pray that she is now in the presence of our Lord, and her voice is adding to the beauty of the song and sound that is part of the splendor of the Kingdom. May she and all of the departed rest in peace.