Kimberley

I will always remember that on her eighth birthday, Kim asked the bishop if she could sing in church. She did and it was great, and it started her career in singing.

When she was in high school she was already an accomplished singer. She did the national anthem at sports events, and she sang in the school elite jazz group. She would sing in church regular.

When she was a senior, she sang in the solo ensemble with the goal of making it to and placing in state. She sang the same song she had sung the year before. She prepared and prepared and was ready. We spent a lot of time talking about why we do things like that–her talent was a gift from God and therefore the use of it should be devoted to Him not to her. She got that–she prayed that she would be blessed and do well, and she dedicated it to the glory of God.

Karen and i went to hear her. She was magnificent–much better than the year before when she got a 1 (highest possible) but didn’t go to state because she was a junior. It was clear and beautiful and it couldn’t have been better. Karen and i went home secure in the knowledge that she would go to state. But she got a 1-. We were flabbergasted. i struggled with it for hours–how could this happen. But Kim handled it way better than me–within an hour she was happy and excited about life like always–the result was ancient history. She learned what I apparently hadn’t. That when you dedicate the performance to the Lord, you submit the outcome to his hands. She did as well as she could, got a different outcome–and that was up to the Lord. However the Lord had something else in mind for her. 3 years later she was welcomed into The Young Ambassadors, BYU’s elite singing team.