Whitney Houston's life was rooted in her Christian faith

Whitney Houston left us too soon. Much too soon. At least, that is how her family members, friends and staff members feel about it. As a pastor and follower of Christ, I know that God's timing is perfect. But as a friend, and former consultant, who cares about her and her family, I miss her already.

For millions of fans around the world, she was larger than life: an icon, a music legend, a singer blessed with an incredible voice -- the kind of voice that only comes along once in a century. But for anybody that got to know her personally, she was very human: very humble, a kind, generous, fun-loving and funny person who knew that she had been blessed with the rarest of gifts -- a great singing voice. And, to her credit, she used her God-given gift to touch the lives of millions of people, most of whom she would never get to meet personally. Her songs were always bigger than just the words. It was the way she sang them that gave her songs meaning and life. She sang from her heart, because the words to her songs always meant something to her.

theGrio: Was Whitney going gospel in her final days?

Now that she has passed from this life to the next, the world is left to ponder what was in her heart. Some have even questioned if she loved God or was a believer in Christ; I never had a spiritual discussion with Whitney, although we did talk about church.

WATCH FOOTAGE OF A YOUNG WHITNEY HOUSTON SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC:

She and her mother both learned that I was a Baptist minister when Whitney brought her family with her to the White House in 1990 to meet President George H. W. Bush. Cissy, Whitney, Gary and Michael (her big brothers) spent a couple of hours with me and a staff assistant in the White House Mess (the dining room below the Oval Office), before I took them upstairs to meet personally with the president.

Of course, I already knew that Cissy Houston was one of the all-time greats in gospel music; I was so glad to meet her. Cissy and Whitney talked about their work in the church, and singing in the church, and I talked about what it was like to be a preacher working in the White House. About five minutes into our discussion at that table in the White House Mess, I felt like I was talking with friends I had known my whole life. Cissy and Whitney were immediately lovely and wonderful people to me.

So how do I know that Whitney loved God?