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Kevin Lowe: If you were given the opportunity to go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?
00:00:06.917 --> 00:00:08.597
Kevin Lowe: Would you warn them
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Kevin Lowe: About the pain that lies ahead?
00:00:11.057 --> 00:00:17.537
Kevin Lowe: Would you give them a heads up about the good times and the bad that they're about to encounter?
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Kevin Lowe: Or would you just simply wish that you could be back in time just to give them a hug and.
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Kevin Lowe: To let them
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Kevin Lowe: Know that.
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Kevin Lowe: It's all going
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Kevin Lowe: To be okay? It's an interesting thought. It's something to think about.
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Kevin Lowe: And today, I want you to do that very thing. Because even though we can't actually go back in time.
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Kevin Lowe: We can start today.
00:00:38.957 --> 00:00:45.137
Kevin Lowe: We can make an impact on our lives right now by maybe taking our advice as.
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Kevin Lowe: If we were
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Kevin Lowe: Already in the future. So my friend, today I'm going to share with you a speech
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Kevin Lowe: that I actually recently gave as part of a speaking competition called Next Top Speaker,
00:00:57.097 --> 00:01:00.957
Kevin Lowe: in which I made it to the top 100. But I.
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Kevin Lowe: Felt too compelled
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Kevin Lowe: By what I had to share that.
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Kevin Lowe: I wanted to share
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Kevin Lowe: It with you here on the podcast. So today is a letter to my younger self.
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Kevin Lowe: Dear younger me.
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Kevin Lowe: And the reason this means anything to you is that I have to believe that what
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Kevin Lowe: I had to share with my younger self might just be able to help you as well.
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Kevin Lowe: So, my friend, if you're interested.
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Kevin Lowe: If you want to learn more,
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Kevin Lowe: Well, then I hope you'll keep listening. This is episode 411 of Grit,
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Kevin Lowe: Grace, and Inspiration.
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Kevin Lowe: And I, of course, am your host, Kevin Lowe, an inspirational speaker,
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Kevin Lowe: blind visionary, and your very host of this podcast.
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Kevin Lowe: My friend, it's always a pleasure to have you here. So let's go ahead and dive into today's episode.
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Podcast Intro Music: Yeah, I got grit, grace, and inspiration on my mind.
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Kevin Lowe: What was the date that your world stopped spinning? Mine, it was October 28th.
00:02:03.194 --> 00:02:03.714
Kevin Lowe: 2003.
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Kevin Lowe: I was 17 years old and I was already checked in at the hospital.
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Kevin Lowe: I was already in the hospital bed.
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Kevin Lowe: Had the cute little gown on,
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Kevin Lowe: IV in.
00:02:14.994 --> 00:02:15.834
Kevin Lowe: I was all
00:02:15.834 --> 00:02:21.074
Kevin Lowe: Prepped and ready for the day's surgery. And the nurses, they were pushing me
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Kevin Lowe: down the long hallways, headed to the operating room.
00:02:25.174 --> 00:02:26.314
Kevin Lowe: Now, I remember, of course,
00:02:26.494 --> 00:02:34.494
Kevin Lowe: There's that final long hallway, so cold, headed to those double swinging doors, the operating room.
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Kevin Lowe: And right before
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Kevin Lowe: We pushed the bed through those double doors.
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Kevin Lowe: They paused and
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Kevin Lowe: Let me say goodbye to my parents.
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Kevin Lowe: My mom and dad,
00:02:45.734 --> 00:02:54.334
Kevin Lowe: They had been walking with me the whole way. and they each bent down and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
00:02:54.554 --> 00:02:55.894
Kevin Lowe: They grabbed my hand,
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Kevin Lowe: Told me everything was going to be okay, that they'd see me in a little bit.
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Kevin Lowe: And I always say that if I knew then.
00:03:02.474 --> 00:03:05.274
Kevin Lowe: What I know now, I don't know that I
00:03:05.274 --> 00:03:07.654
Kevin Lowe: Could have allowed them to push me through those doors.
00:03:07.994 --> 00:03:08.974
Kevin Lowe: I don't know that I
00:03:08.974 --> 00:03:12.434
Kevin Lowe: Could have gone through with it because that would be the last time that I would
00:03:12.434 --> 00:03:15.034
Kevin Lowe: ever see the faces of my parents again.
00:03:15.034 --> 00:03:18.754
Kevin Lowe: If I had known then what I know now,
00:03:19.074 --> 00:03:20.974
Kevin Lowe: I don't know that I could have stopped staring.
00:03:21.854 --> 00:03:23.714
Kevin Lowe: Trying to remember every single detail,
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Kevin Lowe: Exactly the color of their eyes, every wrinkle, every crease,
00:03:29.374 --> 00:03:34.994
Kevin Lowe: the exact shape of their noses, the exact color of their skin, every single detail.
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Kevin Lowe: Because as I said.
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Kevin Lowe: That would be the
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Kevin Lowe: Last time I would ever get to see them.
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Kevin Lowe: Now, how did I get here? Well, that happened just a few weeks earlier.
00:03:44.674 --> 00:03:46.594
Kevin Lowe: And it came with the result of an MRI.
00:03:47.154 --> 00:03:52.574
Kevin Lowe: The doctor, he called my mom on a Friday evening to give her the news that the results were in.
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Kevin Lowe: And unfortunately, it wasn't good news. He asked her to pull over before giving her the news
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Kevin Lowe: That her son.
00:04:01.434 --> 00:04:02.614
Kevin Lowe: Had a brain tumor.
00:04:03.134 --> 00:04:06.034
Kevin Lowe: As he said, it was worse than he ever expected.
00:04:06.534 --> 00:04:07.394
Kevin Lowe: Nobody thought I
00:04:07.394 --> 00:04:08.634
Kevin Lowe: Was going to have something like that.
00:04:08.914 --> 00:04:10.394
Kevin Lowe: Not something so severe.
00:04:10.674 --> 00:04:12.954
Kevin Lowe: And yet it was a tumor the.
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Kevin Lowe: Size of a plum right in the
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Kevin Lowe: Center of my head.
00:04:16.194 --> 00:04:21.754
Kevin Lowe: Now, thankfully, this tumor was non-cancerous. But due to its size,
00:04:21.954 --> 00:04:22.874
Kevin Lowe: Due to its position.
00:04:23.214 --> 00:04:25.734
Kevin Lowe: They said I had at most six months to live.
00:04:26.174 --> 00:04:30.654
Kevin Lowe: At 17 years old, I was six months away from dying.
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Kevin Lowe: And nobody would have even known why.
00:04:34.354 --> 00:04:36.894
Kevin Lowe: I probably just wouldn't have woken up one morning.
00:04:37.434 --> 00:04:42.294
Kevin Lowe: But thankfully, surgery was the answer. I would have surgery.
00:04:42.454 --> 00:04:47.894
Kevin Lowe: My life would be saved. Everything would be fine. That was exactly the mindset
00:04:47.894 --> 00:04:51.054
Kevin Lowe: headed into October 28th.
00:04:51.354 --> 00:04:54.814
Kevin Lowe: 2003, is this was just a little bump in the road.
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Kevin Lowe: I'd go in for surgery.
00:04:57.234 --> 00:04:58.414
Kevin Lowe: They'd remove the tumor.
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Kevin Lowe: They said I'd be out of school for about three weeks, which as a junior in high
00:05:02.834 --> 00:05:07.534
Kevin Lowe: school, I was like, hallelujah, three-week vacation from school.
00:05:07.894 --> 00:05:08.594
Kevin Lowe: I'm down.
00:05:08.974 --> 00:05:14.914
Kevin Lowe: But everything didn't go as planned because there we were in the hospital.
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Kevin Lowe: Everything was checked out.
00:05:17.094 --> 00:05:20.874
Kevin Lowe: I went into that operating room. I said goodbye to my parents.
00:05:21.214 --> 00:05:23.054
Kevin Lowe: And the doctor, he came out many
00:05:23.054 --> 00:05:26.374
Kevin Lowe: Hours later to let my family know that everything went great.
00:05:27.014 --> 00:05:31.614
Kevin Lowe: Surgery, a total success. he was able to successfully remove the tumor.
00:05:31.954 --> 00:05:35.614
Kevin Lowe: Their son's life was saved, but at what cost?
00:05:35.914 --> 00:05:37.834
Kevin Lowe: No one ever talked about the cost.
00:05:38.893 --> 00:05:40.613
Kevin Lowe: No one ever expected the cost.
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Kevin Lowe: When I awoke from that surgery, expecting for everything to be okay,
00:05:46.633 --> 00:05:50.453
Kevin Lowe: everything wasn't okay because I awoke to a world gone dark.
00:05:50.873 --> 00:05:54.733
Kevin Lowe: There were no lights. There were no shapes.
00:05:54.913 --> 00:05:55.673
Kevin Lowe: There were no faces.
00:05:56.233 --> 00:05:58.933
Kevin Lowe: There were voices. There were noises.
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Kevin Lowe: But everything was dark. It was just black. I was left completely blind,
00:06:05.233 --> 00:06:06.573
Kevin Lowe: completely unexpected.
00:06:07.473 --> 00:06:11.493
Kevin Lowe: Never in a million years was it thought that this would happen.
00:06:11.893 --> 00:06:13.333
Kevin Lowe: And yet it happened to me.
00:06:13.613 --> 00:06:20.633
Kevin Lowe: I awoke to be left completely blind. And I can tell you, for the longest time.
00:06:20.833 --> 00:06:24.653
Kevin Lowe: I would go to bed every single night the exact same way.
00:06:25.653 --> 00:06:28.593
Kevin Lowe: Sobbing into my pillow. Crying.
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Kevin Lowe: Screaming.
00:06:30.733 --> 00:06:34.213
Kevin Lowe: Begging God to please just let me see again.
00:06:34.753 --> 00:06:38.093
Kevin Lowe: Becoming blind. it took everything from me.
00:06:38.453 --> 00:06:43.533
Kevin Lowe: So I thought the truck I got when I turned 16 a year before,
00:06:43.933 --> 00:06:49.093
Kevin Lowe: big, beautiful forest green Ford F-150 was sitting in the driveway.
00:06:49.433 --> 00:06:53.233
Kevin Lowe: But the thing that hurt me the most was my family.
00:06:53.833 --> 00:06:58.813
Kevin Lowe: I couldn't see my mom anymore. I couldn't see my dad, my sister.
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Kevin Lowe: I couldn't even look out my bedroom window and see the deer feeding in the yard
00:07:05.063 --> 00:07:09.983
Kevin Lowe: like I used to do every morning as I'd watch the golden,
00:07:09.983 --> 00:07:16.403
Kevin Lowe: Beautiful rays of sunlight start cresting the horizon, watching the deer quietly
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Kevin Lowe: feeding in the side yard.
00:07:18.023 --> 00:07:21.923
Kevin Lowe: All of that was gone. Everything I ever loved,
00:07:22.023 --> 00:07:22.843
Kevin Lowe: Ever dreamed about.
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Kevin Lowe: Was taken from me in an instant. And every night
00:07:26.403 --> 00:07:30.983
Kevin Lowe: I would cry myself to sleep, begging God to just let me see again.
00:07:31.843 --> 00:07:33.543
Kevin Lowe: Even if nothing more,
00:07:34.423 --> 00:07:39.423
Kevin Lowe: Then God just let me be able to see the faces of my family and nothing else.
00:07:39.563 --> 00:07:44.303
Kevin Lowe: That would be okay. And yet every morning, the same thing would happen.
00:07:44.523 --> 00:07:47.563
Kevin Lowe: I'd open my eyes, expecting to be healed.
00:07:48.043 --> 00:07:51.063
Kevin Lowe: And yet I would see the same thing that I did when they were closed.
00:07:51.923 --> 00:07:53.923
Kevin Lowe: If I could go back in time.
00:07:54.143 --> 00:07:55.803
Kevin Lowe: I would go back to this point
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Kevin Lowe: In my life, to a 17-year-old boy whose life had just been destroyed.
00:08:01.763 --> 00:08:03.123
Kevin Lowe: And I wish so badly
00:08:03.123 --> 00:08:04.463
Kevin Lowe: That I could go back.
00:08:04.463 --> 00:08:06.543
Kevin Lowe: And I could lay down beside him
00:08:06.543 --> 00:08:07.183
Kevin Lowe: In that bed.
00:08:07.203 --> 00:08:08.963
Kevin Lowe: Simply to be there
00:08:08.963 --> 00:08:09.543
Kevin Lowe: To tell him.
00:08:09.543 --> 00:08:15.123
Kevin Lowe: That it's going to be okay. But more specifically, I've narrowed it down to
00:08:15.123 --> 00:08:18.123
Kevin Lowe: three specific things that I would tell
00:08:18.123 --> 00:08:19.463
Kevin Lowe: That 17-year-old boy.
00:08:20.023 --> 00:08:21.203
Kevin Lowe: And these are the three
00:08:21.203 --> 00:08:25.883
Kevin Lowe: Same things that I'm going to tell you today. Because the chances are.
00:08:26.083 --> 00:08:27.143
Kevin Lowe: Is that you've
00:08:27.143 --> 00:08:31.283
Kevin Lowe: Had moments in your life where it's felt like your entire world has stopped
00:08:31.283 --> 00:08:34.763
Kevin Lowe: spinning. Where you felt like you couldn't go on any further.
00:08:35.523 --> 00:08:37.063
Kevin Lowe: Maybe you're there right now.
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Kevin Lowe: If you are, then please know I'm talking to you.
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Kevin Lowe: The first thing
00:08:43.503 --> 00:08:47.723
Kevin Lowe: That I would tell him is to not give up on your faith, nor your family.
00:08:47.723 --> 00:08:53.063
Kevin Lowe: At the end of the day, when all is said and done, those will be the two things,
00:08:53.243 --> 00:08:59.763
Kevin Lowe: your cornerstone, your foundation, that will get you through the darkest days and the longest night.
00:09:01.129 --> 00:09:03.529
Kevin Lowe: Because there's going to be nights when.
00:09:03.529 --> 00:09:04.649
Kevin Lowe: You feel like giving up.
00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:08.829
Kevin Lowe: When you pray that if God won't heal you.
00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:09.969
Kevin Lowe: That he'll give
00:09:09.969 --> 00:09:12.229
Kevin Lowe: You the courage to end your life.
00:09:12.669 --> 00:09:16.449
Kevin Lowe: Maybe you've already been there. Maybe you've already gotten to that point.
00:09:17.329 --> 00:09:21.369
Kevin Lowe: But when you lean on your faith and your family, those will make it so
00:09:21.369 --> 00:09:26.329
Kevin Lowe: That you never even go a step further. Because you'll realize that.
00:09:26.329 --> 00:09:26.709
Kevin Lowe: You have an
00:09:26.709 --> 00:09:32.269
Kevin Lowe: Entire family there with you. and that, yeah, maybe ending your life helps you.
00:09:32.849 --> 00:09:34.169
Kevin Lowe: But what will it do to them?
00:09:34.549 --> 00:09:38.749
Kevin Lowe: I'm saying this as the person who's already lived it.
00:09:39.089 --> 00:09:40.049
Kevin Lowe: Who already knows
00:09:40.049 --> 00:09:43.909
Kevin Lowe: What it's like to want something so bad that won't be given to you.
00:09:43.909 --> 00:09:49.669
Kevin Lowe: To want to end the pain so much that you feel like the only way out is to
00:09:49.669 --> 00:09:50.369
Kevin Lowe: End your life.
00:09:50.949 --> 00:09:55.209
Kevin Lowe: But that is not the only way out, that there is more life to live,
00:09:55.369 --> 00:09:57.549
Kevin Lowe: that the sun will rise again,
00:09:57.549 --> 00:09:58.189
Kevin Lowe: And.
00:09:58.189 --> 00:09:58.769
Kevin Lowe: That you will
00:09:58.769 --> 00:10:04.829
Kevin Lowe: Learn to see that sunrise in a whole new beautiful way. You just have to give it time.
00:10:05.989 --> 00:10:09.409
Kevin Lowe: But right now, draw close to your faith.
00:10:09.989 --> 00:10:12.969
Kevin Lowe: Lean on your family. You're going to have a tendency,
00:10:12.969 --> 00:10:17.069
Kevin Lowe: We all do, to feel like we need to protect those we love.
00:10:17.229 --> 00:10:21.349
Kevin Lowe: We don't want to share with them how bad we're hurting because we.
00:10:21.349 --> 00:10:22.669
Kevin Lowe: Don't want them to hurt anymore.
00:10:22.989 --> 00:10:28.849
Kevin Lowe: But that's what family is for. That is why we are there for one another,
00:10:28.909 --> 00:10:32.489
Kevin Lowe: is to be the person for someone to lean on.
00:10:32.689 --> 00:10:34.629
Kevin Lowe: To come to. If we're not
00:10:34.629 --> 00:10:36.109
Kevin Lowe: Willing to do that for them.
00:10:36.429 --> 00:10:37.969
Kevin Lowe: How can we expect them
00:10:37.969 --> 00:10:38.489
Kevin Lowe: To do it.
00:10:38.489 --> 00:10:43.389
Kevin Lowe: For us? We want them to come to us with their pains, their problems.
00:10:43.569 --> 00:10:47.309
Kevin Lowe: We don't want them to suffer alone. Well, it's the same for you.
00:10:47.649 --> 00:10:49.249
Kevin Lowe: So lean on your family.
00:10:49.669 --> 00:10:55.289
Kevin Lowe: When you're sad, don't be alone. Don't go to them, cry with them,
00:10:56.209 --> 00:10:58.909
Kevin Lowe: climb in bed, and cry out the pain.
00:11:00.149 --> 00:11:05.589
Kevin Lowe: It's much better to have somebody there with you than to go through this alone.
00:11:05.869 --> 00:11:09.209
Kevin Lowe: And your faith, your faith is your cornerstone.
00:11:09.449 --> 00:11:14.269
Kevin Lowe: Your faith is the one thing that will see you through every step of this journey.
00:11:14.789 --> 00:11:16.409
Kevin Lowe: Don't give up on your faith.
00:11:17.069 --> 00:11:23.269
Kevin Lowe: Don't give up on a relationship that you have with the creator of the universe.
00:11:23.929 --> 00:11:27.749
Kevin Lowe: The creator who made you. And at the moment,
00:11:27.969 --> 00:11:32.549
Kevin Lowe: You may feel like he's betraying you, like he's given up on you.
00:11:33.049 --> 00:11:35.689
Kevin Lowe: That cannot be more from the truth.
00:11:36.609 --> 00:11:37.989
Kevin Lowe: He loves you.
00:11:38.269 --> 00:11:41.869
Kevin Lowe: And I promise, knowing what I know now,
00:11:42.249 --> 00:11:47.409
Kevin Lowe: That all of this is for a greater purpose. And I know that doesn't make sense right now.
00:11:47.629 --> 00:11:49.609
Kevin Lowe: You may not want to hear it right now,
00:11:49.729 --> 00:11:54.529
Kevin Lowe: But I just am here to tell you, coming to you from the future.
00:11:54.869 --> 00:11:58.169
Kevin Lowe: That it's all going to make sense soon enough.
00:11:58.389 --> 00:12:00.889
Kevin Lowe: And that brings me to the second point.
00:12:01.849 --> 00:12:04.069
Kevin Lowe: The second thing I want to tell you is.
00:12:04.069 --> 00:12:04.709
Kevin Lowe: I want you to give
00:12:04.709 --> 00:12:08.249
Kevin Lowe: Yourself grace. What you're going through is a lot.
00:12:08.589 --> 00:12:11.409
Kevin Lowe: What you've been through is unfair.
00:12:11.969 --> 00:12:18.269
Kevin Lowe: So don't beat yourself up. Don't listen to outsiders who have opinions about your life.
00:12:18.489 --> 00:12:23.489
Kevin Lowe: About what you should be doing, about how far along you should be.
00:12:23.929 --> 00:12:29.309
Kevin Lowe: They don't know anything. The only person's opinion who matters right now is yours.
00:12:30.269 --> 00:12:33.329
Kevin Lowe: So again, if you're listening to the outside noise,
00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:41.049
Kevin Lowe: Seek advice with caution. Only listen to those who you trust with your life.
00:12:41.209 --> 00:12:46.609
Kevin Lowe: Who know you better than you know you. Those are the only people you listen to.
00:12:46.909 --> 00:12:54.669
Kevin Lowe: Everyone else, you block out the noise. This is your race. You race it how you want to race it.
00:12:54.969 --> 00:12:57.189
Kevin Lowe: Some people race it fast.
00:12:57.809 --> 00:12:59.409
Kevin Lowe: Others take it a little bit slower.
00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:01.789
Kevin Lowe: Some take breaks along the way.
00:13:02.349 --> 00:13:06.229
Kevin Lowe: We're all on our own race. This is yours.
00:13:06.569 --> 00:13:07.469
Kevin Lowe: Run it how
00:13:07.469 --> 00:13:14.249
Kevin Lowe: You want to run it. If it takes you longer to get to stage one of the race with
00:13:14.249 --> 00:13:16.229
Kevin Lowe: my friend, that is perfectly fine.
00:13:16.749 --> 00:13:24.409
Kevin Lowe: Because again, no one knows what you're going through more than you do. So do not listen to them.
00:13:24.569 --> 00:13:30.769
Kevin Lowe: Do not beat yourself up. And again, just give yourself grace and understand
00:13:30.769 --> 00:13:32.749
Kevin Lowe: that it's going to be okay.
00:13:33.349 --> 00:13:37.149
Kevin Lowe: That if you give yourself grace, if you're patient with yourself,
00:13:37.449 --> 00:13:41.649
Kevin Lowe: I promise it's going to get easier. It's going to get better.
00:13:41.749 --> 00:13:43.469
Kevin Lowe: But I want you to do
00:13:43.469 --> 00:13:44.849
Kevin Lowe: This on your timeline.
00:13:44.849 --> 00:13:48.029
Kevin Lowe: And I want you to do it your own unique way.
00:13:49.327 --> 00:13:55.727
Kevin Lowe: And that brings me to the third point, is that blindness, it may have taken
00:13:55.727 --> 00:13:58.547
Kevin Lowe: your eyesight, but it did not take who you are.
00:13:59.207 --> 00:14:05.787
Kevin Lowe: You are still heaven low. You are still a boy with a big heart.
00:14:06.047 --> 00:14:11.367
Kevin Lowe: With an amazing curiosity, with an amazing sense of creativity.
00:14:11.807 --> 00:14:17.107
Kevin Lowe: You're still the boy who never really cares to do things like anyone else.
00:14:17.107 --> 00:14:22.067
Kevin Lowe: you've always tended to go against the grain to do things your own way.
00:14:22.687 --> 00:14:29.447
Kevin Lowe: Well, don't stop now. I want you to lean in to who you are more than ever before
00:14:30.167 --> 00:14:31.107
Kevin Lowe: Because I don't.
00:14:31.107 --> 00:14:32.967
Kevin Lowe: Want you to lose who you are.
00:14:33.447 --> 00:14:40.767
Kevin Lowe: Again, what happened? It has taken so much from you. Don't let it take who you are.
00:14:41.267 --> 00:14:42.767
Kevin Lowe: The world needs
00:14:42.767 --> 00:14:44.807
Kevin Lowe: You just as you are.
00:14:44.807 --> 00:14:48.207
Kevin Lowe: And I know it might not make any
00:14:48.207 --> 00:14:49.127
Kevin Lowe: Sense right now.
00:14:49.167 --> 00:14:50.827
Kevin Lowe: But I'm going to tell you
00:14:50.827 --> 00:14:52.387
Kevin Lowe: That there's going to come a point.
00:14:52.387 --> 00:14:59.587
Kevin Lowe: Down the line when that very sense of going against the grain,
00:14:59.967 --> 00:15:05.647
Kevin Lowe: That very sense of finding ways around obstacles, of being curious,
00:15:05.767 --> 00:15:11.127
Kevin Lowe: of being creative, it's going to let you find a way to see again.
00:15:11.447 --> 00:15:12.847
Kevin Lowe: Just in a whole new,
00:15:12.847 --> 00:15:13.947
Kevin Lowe: Incredible way.
00:15:15.147 --> 00:15:16.567
Kevin Lowe: You're not going to get to see
00:15:16.567 --> 00:15:19.287
Kevin Lowe: Like you used to. I'm sorry to say.
00:15:20.087 --> 00:15:25.367
Kevin Lowe: And you're going to wish forever that you could see again, but you're going
00:15:25.367 --> 00:15:28.407
Kevin Lowe: to find a new way to see. But you're going to get
00:15:28.407 --> 00:15:32.607
Kevin Lowe: To see the world like a bat or a dolphin using echolocation.
00:15:33.427 --> 00:15:38.827
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, you're going to get to a point where you're able to retrain your brain to see through sound.
00:15:39.427 --> 00:15:40.827
Kevin Lowe: It's going to blow your mind.
00:15:42.027 --> 00:15:45.867
Kevin Lowe: But even more than that, you're going to learn to see the world,
00:15:46.147 --> 00:15:48.627
Kevin Lowe: The people in this world.
00:15:48.887 --> 00:15:50.987
Kevin Lowe: In a way far greater than sight
00:15:50.987 --> 00:15:51.787
Kevin Lowe: Could ever allow.
00:15:52.247 --> 00:15:57.107
Kevin Lowe: Because you're going to get to learn that there's so much more to this world
00:15:57.107 --> 00:16:00.547
Kevin Lowe: than just what the eye can see. You'll begin to
00:16:00.547 --> 00:16:05.847
Kevin Lowe: Appreciate the morning sunrise based on the heat that shines on your face.
00:16:05.847 --> 00:16:09.187
Kevin Lowe: By the sound of the birds that chirp in the morning,
00:16:09.667 --> 00:16:11.107
Kevin Lowe: That special song.
00:16:11.107 --> 00:16:11.987
Kevin Lowe: They only do
00:16:11.987 --> 00:16:14.667
Kevin Lowe: When the sun first starts to rise.
00:16:15.167 --> 00:16:20.327
Kevin Lowe: You'll pay attention to the little things, the sound of the fluttering leaves,
00:16:20.907 --> 00:16:22.867
Kevin Lowe: the feel of the cool breeze,
00:16:23.327 --> 00:16:28.947
Kevin Lowe: The heartwarming laughter of a child. You'll see the warmth of your family's
00:16:28.947 --> 00:16:33.427
Kevin Lowe: smiles by the very essence of just who they are.
00:16:33.427 --> 00:16:38.707
Kevin Lowe: You'll be able to see your mom's face again in a whole new way.
00:16:39.547 --> 00:16:46.687
Kevin Lowe: You'll get to understand what your dad looks like even as he grows older in a whole new way.
00:16:47.207 --> 00:16:51.747
Kevin Lowe: And I know it doesn't make sense right now. And I know you just want to see
00:16:51.747 --> 00:16:52.667
Kevin Lowe: Like you used to.
00:16:53.207 --> 00:16:55.567
Kevin Lowe: But I promise it's
00:16:55.567 --> 00:16:56.327
Kevin Lowe: Going to be okay.
00:16:56.327 --> 00:16:57.987
Kevin Lowe: That there's so much more
00:16:57.987 --> 00:16:58.867
Kevin Lowe: To this life.
00:16:58.867 --> 00:17:01.027
Kevin Lowe: Than you even can imagine.
00:17:01.407 --> 00:17:03.267
Kevin Lowe: You've just got to give yourself time.
00:17:03.767 --> 00:17:04.507
Kevin Lowe: You got to
00:17:04.507 --> 00:17:08.807
Kevin Lowe: Lean on your faith and your family in the hard times. You got to give yourself grace.
00:17:09.507 --> 00:17:15.447
Kevin Lowe: And you have to just lean in to who you are and never stop being you.
00:17:15.907 --> 00:17:19.667
Kevin Lowe: My friend, that's what I wish I could go back and tell my younger self.
00:17:19.987 --> 00:17:24.387
Kevin Lowe: I'm coming up on the 22-year anniversary of when I became blind.
00:17:25.947 --> 00:17:27.767
Kevin Lowe: And today, more than ever,
00:17:27.967 --> 00:17:32.707
Kevin Lowe: I do wish so badly that I could go back and talk to my 17-year-old self.
00:17:33.718 --> 00:17:34.858
Kevin Lowe: Simply to be there to
00:17:34.858 --> 00:17:39.758
Kevin Lowe: Let him know that it's going to be okay. And obviously, that's not possible.
00:17:40.398 --> 00:17:46.858
Kevin Lowe: But what is possible is for me to talk to you, who's listening to me on this podcast.
00:17:47.618 --> 00:17:51.338
Kevin Lowe: You might be my nice-door neighbor, or you might be on the other side
00:17:51.338 --> 00:17:53.678
Kevin Lowe: Of the world. But whoever you are.
00:17:53.978 --> 00:17:57.178
Kevin Lowe: I understand that you're probably going through stuff
00:17:57.178 --> 00:17:57.978
Kevin Lowe: In your own life.
00:17:58.578 --> 00:18:06.198
Kevin Lowe: And I want you to know that it's going to be okay. And I encourage you to find your base,
00:18:06.558 --> 00:18:13.858
Kevin Lowe: Your foundation. For myself, this has always been my faith and my family. For you.
00:18:14.078 --> 00:18:15.018
Kevin Lowe: I encourage you to
00:18:15.018 --> 00:18:19.738
Kevin Lowe: Find that base, the foundation, the cornerstone to your life, to your existence.
00:18:20.198 --> 00:18:24.538
Kevin Lowe: And I encourage you to lean on it when you need to. I encourage you to give
00:18:24.538 --> 00:18:27.478
Kevin Lowe: yourself grace when you find yourself
00:18:27.478 --> 00:18:31.718
Kevin Lowe: Beating yourself up, when you find yourself talking bad to yourself,
00:18:32.178 --> 00:18:33.618
Kevin Lowe: give yourself some grace.
00:18:34.238 --> 00:18:38.798
Kevin Lowe: And of course, I say it often on this podcast and I'm going to say it here.
00:18:39.098 --> 00:18:45.158
Kevin Lowe: The world needs more of you. I think you're amazing. The fact that you're listening to this podcast,
00:18:45.158 --> 00:18:48.658
Kevin Lowe: It tells me that you care about your life.
00:18:48.678 --> 00:18:53.358
Kevin Lowe: That you want to become better. You want to do better. You want more out of life.
00:18:53.838 --> 00:18:57.858
Kevin Lowe: My friend, that is what this world needs. That's what you need.
00:18:58.618 --> 00:19:02.958
Kevin Lowe: So lean in to who you are and never stop being you.
00:19:03.558 --> 00:19:05.858
Kevin Lowe: My friend, my name is Kevin Lowe.
00:19:06.158 --> 00:19:07.458
Kevin Lowe: This, of course, is Grit,
00:19:07.558 --> 00:19:08.618
Kevin Lowe: Grace, and Inspiration.
00:19:09.278 --> 00:19:11.818
Kevin Lowe: If you ever need anything,
00:19:12.258 --> 00:19:19.138
Kevin Lowe: Please reach out to me. If you check out the show notes, there's links to contact me.
00:19:19.318 --> 00:19:23.418
Kevin Lowe: If you go to the website, gritgraceinspiration.com.
00:19:23.538 --> 00:19:25.658
Kevin Lowe: You can find links to contact me there.
00:19:25.658 --> 00:19:28.818
Kevin Lowe: And also, you know, if you're somebody.
00:19:28.818 --> 00:19:34.418
Kevin Lowe: Part of an organization or association or maybe even a corporation and you have
00:19:34.418 --> 00:19:37.918
Kevin Lowe: an upcoming meeting that you're needing an inspirational speaker for,
00:19:38.178 --> 00:19:40.998
Kevin Lowe: Hey, I would love it if you would reach out to me.
00:19:41.258 --> 00:19:46.358
Kevin Lowe: Again, all my contact information is in the episode show notes or right on my
00:19:46.358 --> 00:19:49.658
Kevin Lowe: website at GritGraceInspiration.com.
00:19:50.358 --> 00:19:56.718
Kevin Lowe: My friend, as always, it's an honor and joy to have you joining me each and
00:19:56.718 --> 00:19:59.298
Kevin Lowe: every week here on the podcast.
00:19:59.558 --> 00:20:01.538
Kevin Lowe: I hope you have an amazing day.
00:20:01.878 --> 00:20:07.358
Kevin Lowe: And lastly, if there's somebody who you think could benefit from hearing today's message.
00:20:07.658 --> 00:20:08.798
Kevin Lowe: I really hope
00:20:08.798 --> 00:20:12.058
Kevin Lowe: That you'll share today's episode with them. Until next week.
00:20:12.298 --> 00:20:12.938
Kevin Lowe: I hope you have an
00:20:12.938 --> 00:20:16.198
Kevin Lowe: Absolutely beautiful day. Thank you so much for being here.
00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:36.663
Podcast Outro Music: I got Grit, Grace, & Inspiration on my mind