EXHALE

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 NEV

What does it mean to exhale? The dictionary defines it as an act of expelling or releasing. It can also metaphorically refer to expressing or releasing emotions or feelings.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as the voice, she is one of the most awarded performers of all time. She broke both gender and racial barriers. In 2023 she was ranked second on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest singers of all time. And we know this is true when she delivered an unforgettable performance of the Star Spangle Banner at Super bowl 25 in 1991.

In 1995, she starred in the movie, Waiting to Exhale. This romantic comedy-drama film was directed by Forest Whitaker. The film was an adaptation from the 1992 novel by Terry McMillan. It’s a story about 4 college-educated, middle-class black women who rely on one another to overcome several personal and professional crises. From that movie came several songs like, It hurt like hell by Aretha Franklin, not gon cry by Mary J. Blige, and my funny valentine by Chaka Khan. One more song comes to mind by Whitney Houston called, Exhale (Shoop Shoop)

Allow me to share some of the words and if you are like me, I hadn’t heard it in a good while, when you get some time, listen to it.

“Everyone falls in love sometime
, sometimes it’s wrong
 and sometimes it’s right, for every win
 someone must fail
but there comes a point when
 we exhale, sometimes you’ll laugh
, sometimes you’ll cry
 life never tells us the when’s or why’s
, when you’ve got friends to wish you well
 you’ll find your point when you will exhale, hearts are often broken when there are words unspoken, in your soul there’s answers to your prayers, If you’re searching for a place you know
 a familiar face, somewhere to go, you should look inside yourself, you’re halfway there
 Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop be doop
 all you gotta do is say shoop be doop.”

The Psalms I am sharing today is an expression of praise, even with all the troubles the people  were experiencing, they beilieved God would bring them restoration and healing.  Our God is the Great physician, He is all-powerful and can heal us from the inside out. As we exhale, we do so as an act of expelling negativity and releasing ourselves to just trust God with our emotions and feelings.

Remember friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.