Where do you look for the angels in your life that have gone before us? We all miss someone that has taken their place in heaven, most all of us miss more than one, several in fact. We envision them how we remember them on earth. We picture our angel friend Kim up on those big fluffy clouds, tending to all the little baby cherubs that left way before their time on earth was completed. We see Kim's big white toothy smile, perfectly "did up" hair, and big blue eyes. We lift our gaze up towards the sky when we think of Kim. We cross our hands over our hearts when we miss her and picture the last moments we had her with us, down here on earth.
We look for signs that help us believe that somehow, in someway, our heavenly loved ones are visiting us to let us know "hey, I'm ok, and you will be ok too." A red cardinal, a firefly, a ladybug, penny's on our path. A pretty flower, a refreshing scent, a puff of air in on a windless day. The good memories that come through with gentle reminders of happy times spent with our loved ones who have past.
Some simple reminders of Kim for me are everyday ordinary things that had I never met her would pass by me as I walk my walk on earths journey. When I see the colors orange and teal together I think of the Miami Dolphins, the team Kim liked. Taking my nieces to Krispy Crème for a treat, a donut that Kim could never pass up. My Ugg slippers that Kim gave to me to keep my feet warm. Reminders everywhere, everywhere I turn. Those memories are all I have left of my Pooh.
Or are they ....
We all have our memories, but we also all have each other. Some of us knew each other before we knew Kim, some of us 'met' through Kim, and some of us now know each other because of Kim. Our lives, through Kim were made richer. Kim loved us all, and we all love Kim. She may not have been your POOH, but she was someone special to all of us. Sharing our memories with each other helps the grieving. I have enjoyed getting to know some of Kim's family and friends and hearing stories or seeing pictures that I otherwise would not have access to before Kim moved on to eternity.
Each one of us that Kim allowed inside her bubble, in her circle of friends in life, have a piece of Kim's life in our souls that we are now carrying into the world. We were not left just with memories, and pictures, and journey's that we took with Kim on her time on earth. We don't all just share our grief through tears, and anger, and confusion. We have each other and because we have each other, because we all have walked next to Kim in her earth's journey, we have pieces of Kim that when we share them, when we put them together, we have many parts of Kim with us. In our hearts, on our minds, deep in our souls.
When I think of her husband Cory I remember the deep love she held for him in her heart. I always told Kim that if I could be half the husband to my wife Katie as Cory was to Kim, I would be ahead of the game of love for life. Kim's daughter Alex, my lil sista, had that same infectious smile that Kim hared with all of us. Alex is tough, very strong, and even though she misses her mommy and cries endlessly like the rest of us, there is a lot of Kim inside that daughter of hers. Tough as nails, with a big heart and loved by everyone.
If you are reading this blog, and you knew Kim and you were a part of her bubble, we share more than you think we do. We not only share the grief, the tears, the sadness and the confusion of why God called her home to him .. we share everything Kim was, or is, to the world that made it a better place. Kim is in all of us in some small way. Sure she's up in that big Krispy Crème sky above us taking care of the little cherubs up there. Sure she is in our hearts as we find ways to deal with her being taking from us before a ripe old age. Sure she is looking down on us, smiling at us with those pearly whites.
But Kim is also inside each and everyone of us as we live in a world void of her physical presence, wishing this was all just a bad dream. When we leave this earth we live around pieces of our lives with those that choose to stand by our side through the battles and struggles of gaining our place in heaven where one day we will be together again. Look around you, at the friends and family you have in common with Kim. Look for the pieces she left behind inside each of us. Seeds Kim planted in us along the way so that one day, when she was gone, together we could share those pieces and always, forever, have her with each and everyone of us.
The next time you find yourself missing Kim, after you send a prayer or thought up to her ...
The next time you shed a tear, because she's no longer here ...
The next time you find your heart heavy with sadness ...
The next time you picture Kim up in heaven as you last saw her on earth ...
Look for her in others who are still amongst us, because she is near, always, in pieces of each of us.
We look for signs that help us believe that somehow, in someway, our heavenly loved ones are visiting us to let us know "hey, I'm ok, and you will be ok too." A red cardinal, a firefly, a ladybug, penny's on our path. A pretty flower, a refreshing scent, a puff of air in on a windless day. The good memories that come through with gentle reminders of happy times spent with our loved ones who have past.
Some simple reminders of Kim for me are everyday ordinary things that had I never met her would pass by me as I walk my walk on earths journey. When I see the colors orange and teal together I think of the Miami Dolphins, the team Kim liked. Taking my nieces to Krispy Crème for a treat, a donut that Kim could never pass up. My Ugg slippers that Kim gave to me to keep my feet warm. Reminders everywhere, everywhere I turn. Those memories are all I have left of my Pooh.
Or are they ....
We all have our memories, but we also all have each other. Some of us knew each other before we knew Kim, some of us 'met' through Kim, and some of us now know each other because of Kim. Our lives, through Kim were made richer. Kim loved us all, and we all love Kim. She may not have been your POOH, but she was someone special to all of us. Sharing our memories with each other helps the grieving. I have enjoyed getting to know some of Kim's family and friends and hearing stories or seeing pictures that I otherwise would not have access to before Kim moved on to eternity.
Each one of us that Kim allowed inside her bubble, in her circle of friends in life, have a piece of Kim's life in our souls that we are now carrying into the world. We were not left just with memories, and pictures, and journey's that we took with Kim on her time on earth. We don't all just share our grief through tears, and anger, and confusion. We have each other and because we have each other, because we all have walked next to Kim in her earth's journey, we have pieces of Kim that when we share them, when we put them together, we have many parts of Kim with us. In our hearts, on our minds, deep in our souls.
When I think of her husband Cory I remember the deep love she held for him in her heart. I always told Kim that if I could be half the husband to my wife Katie as Cory was to Kim, I would be ahead of the game of love for life. Kim's daughter Alex, my lil sista, had that same infectious smile that Kim hared with all of us. Alex is tough, very strong, and even though she misses her mommy and cries endlessly like the rest of us, there is a lot of Kim inside that daughter of hers. Tough as nails, with a big heart and loved by everyone.
If you are reading this blog, and you knew Kim and you were a part of her bubble, we share more than you think we do. We not only share the grief, the tears, the sadness and the confusion of why God called her home to him .. we share everything Kim was, or is, to the world that made it a better place. Kim is in all of us in some small way. Sure she's up in that big Krispy Crème sky above us taking care of the little cherubs up there. Sure she is in our hearts as we find ways to deal with her being taking from us before a ripe old age. Sure she is looking down on us, smiling at us with those pearly whites.
But Kim is also inside each and everyone of us as we live in a world void of her physical presence, wishing this was all just a bad dream. When we leave this earth we live around pieces of our lives with those that choose to stand by our side through the battles and struggles of gaining our place in heaven where one day we will be together again. Look around you, at the friends and family you have in common with Kim. Look for the pieces she left behind inside each of us. Seeds Kim planted in us along the way so that one day, when she was gone, together we could share those pieces and always, forever, have her with each and everyone of us.
The next time you find yourself missing Kim, after you send a prayer or thought up to her ...
The next time you shed a tear, because she's no longer here ...
The next time you find your heart heavy with sadness ...
The next time you picture Kim up in heaven as you last saw her on earth ...
Look for her in others who are still amongst us, because she is near, always, in pieces of each of us.
Merry Christmas
my fellow Kim missers
