Kimmi's Heart

Bambi called tonight. She hadn't heard about Kimmi's passing so it really hurt her. However, we had a very nice talk, and the one thing she mentioned most about Kimmi was the same thing everyone else told us about Kimmi: It was her HEART! She had a HEART OF GOLD! She loved everybody, especially those that nobody else could ever love. I never heard her put anyone down, never knew her to be mean to anybody and never knew her to judge anybody. She just seemed to love everybody. She would even scold Evey and me when we'd judge others.

Everyone we talked to at the funeral and wake said the same thing: KIMMI WAS LOVE. She seemed to love everybody. It didn't matter if rich or poor, smart or not so, clean or dirty. She loved them, and she would be their friend. I still remember some of the characters she brought home. I about had a heart attack when she brought Larry, Darryl and Darryl home (these three reminded me of the characters on the Newhart Show, even looked as shabby as them). But, they were her friends. I wanted to commit murder when she brought another character home (high school dropout, in trouble with the law, stole from me, and used Kim in the most hateful ways. Even his family used her over and over and were never friends to her), but Kimmi considered him and his family friends. Other people came and went in her life (mostly for a selfish short while) but they were her friends even when she knew they were using her.

1 Samuel talks about a man who was an adulterer, murderer, and lousy, lousy father who raised his kids in anything but a Godly way. But, God said that "David was a man after his own heart". God made him the king of all Israel, a line that Jesus had to descend from to be legitimate.

Although I didn't always approve of Kim's ways or actions, I do know that she had that HEART OF GOD! Like Jesus, she loved the unloved, lifted up the useless, and cared for the uncared for. She'd give her last dollar to the needy, then have to borrow from us to pay bills. she'd take care of friends, then do without for a month. And, she'd never ask for the money back. Many never paid her back. She'd drive for people even when she didn't have gas money. She would always try to be a friend, even to those who didn't treat her right.

So, we weren't surprised when so many told us about her heart, her love and her friendship. Even the church staff told us that Kim's funeral attracted more people than they ever had before. With such a small family, most of them living very far away, they still came; many flying thousands of miles. We expected about 75 people, but over 250 came. These were her friends, the ones that she loved over the years.

How did so many people love her so much. It was her HEART OF GOD and her LOVE for others that brought people from all over the Omaha area to say "Goodbye" to a precious angel from heaven.

Kim's real friends (those who stayed with her when she was sick or in the hospital) were Bambi, Shawna, Paul, Mike, and Holly much of the time. Never saw the other 'friends', especially that family, when Kimmi needed friends! It was when she was sick at home or in the hospital that she really needed friends, but most of those times it was just her family and her pets (Prince, Millie, and Peanut) that kept her company.

Bambi was there when Kim was younger, but moved away. Paul was a godsend. He was the only man who would love Kimmi back the way she loved him. He filled a major part in her life. They wanted to marry and have children, but it was impossible because of her medical condition and mainly for insurance reasons. Mike was there many times when nobody else was, Holly was there many times, and dear sweet Shawna. Shawna was ALWAYS there for her friend. They were BEST Friends.