Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse, a local Camdener, died on Saturday. Her security team found her dead in her house on Camden Square. Some of my teammates and I went by her house this afternoon to spend some time praying for her family and friends, and for the many other people in this area of London who struggle with drug and alcohol addictions. When a lot of people think of Amy Winehouse, they immediately think of her hit song "Rehab", which she wrote a few years ago as a response to people encouraging her to seek help for her addictions ("They tried to make me go to rehab, and I said 'No, no, no'."). We were talking today about how, in the midst of all the brokenness that we hear about from her life, she was a woman made in the image of God, and the Camden community saw pieces of that beauty in the way that she really loved and cared about this part of London. She was a hit singer with a lot of talent, who could have lived anywhere, and yet she took a firm stance in remaining in Camden, where her talent was first found. And she was often seen in the local grocery stores or pubs, hanging out with the locals here. It's really sad to hear of how she numbed herself to the pain and depression that existed in her life, though, and how she was so lost without Jesus, the only One who can heal the pain and be the ultimate Balm. Outside of her house, people have left notes that say "Heaven is rocking now. Jesus alone saves," and "Hope you have better luck in your next life", and "Amy is at peace now." It's obvious and sad that people are trying to numb their own selves to the reality of death, by glossing over this tragedy. They don't know how to respond. Amy is dead. I have been praying that she accepted Jesus into her heart before her death, but the reality is that if she didn't, she's not rocking in heaven now, and she won't have better luck in the "next life". I know that sounds really harsh, but this needs to be a wake-up call, not another numbing lotion, for people's hearts that our time can come at any time. And that there is so much pain in this world, but there is One who CAME DOWN and WALKED AMONG us to know first-hand what it's like here, and who then died for all of the brokenness here. It's also a wake-up call to us believers that we cannot be silent about Christ. We need to be hanging out with those people who are struggling and trying to numb themselves in whatever capacity and tell them the freeing news, not out of obligation, but out of compassion and love and a burden that we long for them to be rocking it out in heaven someday with Jesus too.