Usher is speaking out after a family tragedy. The 44-year-old singer took to Instagram on Monday to share a lengthy tribute to his grandmother, Ernestine Carter, who died on Christmas Eve at her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was 87.
"It's taken me a few days to come to grips with the fact that my Grandma Tina is no longer with me," Usher began alongside photos and videos of his late grandma. "I'm praying for clarity and strength for all whom relied on her. Her daily devotion was to help those in need and she did just that. It was her life's work. She was truly a prayer warrior for me and so many others. I feel a bit lost right now."
While Usher said that "part of me is trying to be strong, for others," he admitted that "the other half of me continues to break silently."
"We were just laughing days ago," Usher wrote. "I really thought we had more time."
Usher continued by noting, "When I was lost, she was always there when I called on her, no matter the hour or how long it took. When I needed the perfect Bible verse to suit the reality of what I was facing at the time...she's provided it."
"When I was broken, confused, lost and most vulnerable. She saw something else...and was there to remind me of purpose, and that no matter what I was facing," he added. "I love u more, she would say."
Usher called his late grandma his "earth angel," writing, "Whatever it took, from fasting for me and prayer that GOD deliver me from what stress and strife I was blinded by at the moment. She would send forth ministering angels to clear my path .... 'You are Usher Raymond...you are to Welcome Light to Man,' she would say...bring them out of darkness and into the light."
Usher wrote that he takes comfort in knowing God "called her home," but added that he "just wasn't ready" for that to happen.
"Her last words to me were, 'There's a time for everything son ...there's a time to laugh, a time to cry...there's a time to live and a time to die,'" he recalled. "... I need you right now more than ever Grandma. Just to hear u one more time. Missin u. I celebrate u and your life!!"
"Someone told me just today, 'Keep in mind that it’s only sad b/c we miss them and that’s us being selfish and rightfully so but it’s really a congratulatory celebration b/c they're at the ultimate place forever!'" Usher added. "I believe that... she will be missed very much."
Usher concluded his post by writing, "I love u more Grandma. Rest In Paradise #RIP Evangelist Ernestine Carter."
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