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Today, we are talking about grace.

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Why grace? Well, because grace is something that we oftentimes extend to others,

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but rarely do we give to ourselves.

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And with today's episode, my hope is that by the time this episode is over,

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is that your expression will soften when you look at your reflection in the mirror.

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I want you to understand that it's okay to be where you are.

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And, of course, ultimately, I hope that you'll begin to treat yourself like

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you would your best friend.

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Today is all about grace, and it's all happening right here,

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right now, inside of episode 317.

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Welcome to the podcast.

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Yo, are you ready to flip the script on life? Because those bad days,

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they're just doors to better days.

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And that's exactly what we do here at Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

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Your host, Kevin Lowe. He's been flipping the script on his own life,

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turning over 20 years of being completely blind into straight-up inspiration,

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motivation, and encouragement just for you.

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So, kick back, relax, and let me introduce you to your host, Kevin Lowe.

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Since I figured the best way to explore any idea is through stories,

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we're going to look at the stories of three individuals who exhibit grace in

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their life, in their stories.

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Susan Lynch, Dr. Robin Hall, and Tessa Arnold are all women who you may recognize

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from past episodes of this podcast.

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I chose these three particular women and their stories because each of them

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have faced their own unique challenges. challenges and yeah,

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I feel like they found a way to embody grace in the midst of it all.

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And of course, most importantly, is I feel like their stories are going to mean

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something to you because, well, that's the point of today's episode,

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is I want you to leave a little bit better than when you came.

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Our first story today comes from Susan Lynch, a woman who shared such Such a

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heartfelt story about the loss of her son.

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Susan, her story, it's of heartbreak, but I believe it's also of courage.

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Any mother who loses a child,

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Well, they have two choices, I guess, is it's just like any of us when we experience

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a loss or pain is we can either just stay stuck or we can eventually decide

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that we need to move forward,

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that we can gather up the strength to put the pieces together enough that we can start living again.

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One of the ways in which Susan was able to move forward was by honoring her

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son, by keeping his name alive.

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Ironically, his name was Kevin. Yeah, just like mine.

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I thought that was a pretty cool coincidence when I heard her story.

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I want you to remember that grace, especially in this story of Susan,

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it's not about erasing the pain, but rather finding the strength to carry on.

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Susan had said in that interview that if her son's death could help even just

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one person, then it has meaning.

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I believe her willingness to turn the hardest point in her life into hopefully

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a message of hope to others is honestly just a testament to the power of grace.

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Next up, I want to talk to you about Dr. Robin Hall. She was featured on the

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podcast actually not too long ago.

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And if you heard her story, well, you were in for a treat.

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This woman had such an amazing outlook on life.

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And especially when we start to talk about the hard stuff, the sad stuff like cancer.

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She herself had her life impacted by cancer.

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She had family members with cancer. And well, of course, she also cared for her patients.

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Where I see grace exhibited in Dr.

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Robin Hall's situation is the way in which she has chosen to see these hard times in life.

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Where she talks about finding the unexpected blessings, the unexpected blessings

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in the midst of all of this bad. Because, well, I feel like Dr.

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Robin Hall, she found that grace is not just about enduring hardships,

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but even maybe more so allowing oneself to find joy and even gratitude in the midst of the bad.

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Grace is giving yourself a break.

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It's letting yourself realize that it's okay to smile, even though things in your life might be bad.

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Even though things around you might be stressful, it's okay.

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It's okay to smile. It's okay to laugh.

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It doesn't mean that you aren't paying attention to the situation.

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It doesn't mean that you forgot about what's going on in life.

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No, you're just giving yourself some grace, helping yourself to get through

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it. And sometimes the best way we can get through a hard situation is to find something to laugh at.

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Because, well, I've often said that sometimes if you're not laughing, you're crying.

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And for myself, I would much rather be laughing.

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So when you think of Dr. Robin Hall in today's context, I want you to remember

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that she teaches us that grace is found in those small moments.

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When we allow ourselves to be real, to be vulnerable, and, of course,

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to find beauty even in the darkest of places.

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Now, I couldn't talk about the topic of grace without speaking about a woman

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named Tessa Arnold, another phenomenal guest who I had on the podcast. Tessa Arnold.

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Tessa is a woman who had profound loss and yet has found a way to rebuild her life.

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And, well, in terms of today's topic, I would like to say she found a way to rebuild it with grace.

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After the sudden loss of her husband, Tessa, she was at a crossroads.

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She could stay in the life she knew or she could make a pivot.

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She ultimately, she chose to take the path that aligned with her true self.

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With who she is, with what she wanted. Her story is all about self-acceptance. It's all about change.

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And without a doubt, it's all about having grace to allow yourself to redefine

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your path, to change things up when you need to.

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And of course, having grace allowed her to do it without judgment,

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allowing you to do so without judgment, not judging yourself,

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not being so hard on yourself, giving yourself a break.

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Life is tough, no matter what you're going through. By giving yourself grace, well, it's like you,

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being the best friend that you've been needing, somebody to encourage you,

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somebody to pat you on the shoulder and tell you it's going to be okay,

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that yes, you are doing good. Just keep going.

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That is what it means when you can give yourself grace.

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I feel the real important thing that Tessa's story reminds us is that grace

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allows us to rewrite our own stories.

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It allows us to let go of what no longer serves us, and it ultimately allows

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us to step into the life we were meant to live.

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These three women, Susan Lynch, Dr.

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Robin Hall, and Tessa Arnold, each one offer their own unique perspective on grace.

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And through their stories, we see that grace, it's not just about forgiveness.

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It's more so about allowing ourselves to be unperfect, allowing ourselves to

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stumble humble as we move forward and ultimately to rise again.

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Grace, well, it's about finding strength and vulnerability, purpose and pain,

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and of course, hope in the face of adversity.

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Whether you're dealing with loss, with the challenges, or just the stresses

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of life, I want you to realize that grace can be your anchor.

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Grace can be that secret you've been looking for. Give yourself a break.

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Show yourself a little bit of grace.

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You deserve it. Life is hard. And just the fact that you're here,

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you're doing it, you got out of bed this morning, you're moving forward. word.

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I want you to realize that you're way more amazing than you realize.

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I want you to give yourself that grace. I want you to give yourself a break.

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And well, if anything, I hope you turn off today's podcast and just go treat

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yourself like you would your best friend.

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If anything said today makes you think of somebody, well, please share today's episode with them.

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I would love it if you would send them a link to this episode,

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tell them about it, tell them about the podcast in general, because,

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well, that's how we help to keep it growing.

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And lastly, if there is ever anything I can do for you, if you ever just want

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to reach out, have a quick conversation to talk about what you got going on,

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you know that you can reach out to me.

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There is a link inside of the show notes where you can book a free call with me.

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There's also a link where you can send me a short voice message if you just want to do that.

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Whichever way, I'm just encouraging you to never hesitate to reach out.

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I'm here for you, hoping to be of value to you, both here on the podcast and beyond.

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Until then, of course, I'm Kevin Lowe, and this was another episode of Grit,

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Grace, and Inspiration.

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Music.