God Speed Your Journey, Bishop Walter Hawkins

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[QueenTiye]

It is hard sometimes, to understand how we can mourn someone we've never met. And yet, there are those who, by their life and ministry, touch people they never knew at all.  Walter Hawkins, the legendary Gospel minister, writer, recording artist, and performer, passed away yesterday, too young for my understanding.  At age 61, he left the world because of pancreatic cancer.  But again I'm reminded that God decides when we go back to Him - not cancer, not terrorists, not anything but God.

I have to offer two three videos - one two, of his last public performance (found part 1 after original posting of this thread).  His body weak from sickness, and maybe from chemotherapy, his spirit was strong, and he sang a song that spoke so eloquently of his faith and hope of God's merciful salvation - and most of all, of his gratitude and appreciation for the life that God gave him.  In his final performance - a lesson to us all. I pray that I am able to be as grateful in adversity as he was in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9qes3zM4k4 (External Embedding Disabled)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/MzM7VcxpwGo&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/MzM7VcxpwGo&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0</a>

!

[QueenTiye]

And here, the second one - of a song I sang in church when I was a teenager.  An amazing song, fun to sing, full of conviction and hope - which is how Walter sang it. And, so appropriate for today.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/6YMF86irxeM&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/6YMF86irxeM&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0</a>

The full song here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZudU39k8-s (External Embedding Disabled)