My Dad, A Ford F150, and The Summer God Gave Me

But that truck, that Forrest Green 96 Ford F-150 4x4, it was more than just a truck.

It was more than just my first car.

It would literally start off the best year of my life.

Welcome to Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and I'm excited to welcome you inside.

This is the kind of place where your glass will never be anything other than half full because we choose to focus on the positive side of life.

Now, this doesn't mean that we shy away from the real talk.

No, not a chance.

Matter of fact, we explore all aspects of life.

From the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But all of that is done with one purpose.

One purpose.

To inspire you to never give up on life.

Even when it may seem like life has given up on you.

Now I get it, life is hard.

But starting today, you've got grit, grace, and inspiration.

What's going on and how are we today?

My name is Kevin Lowe, host of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration, as well as Transformational Life and Business Coach.

I'm excited to have you joining me today.

It's episode 158.

And woo baby, we are into the month of February here in 2023.

Now, today's episode is going to be a little bit different than most.

Well, that's because it's not an interview, which, well, because we do interviews on Tuesday.

So naturally it's Friday.

So duh, we got a solo episode, Kevin.

Well, maybe not so, duh, because I am veering off from my normal solo content by instead giving you a story while at the same time wishing somebody a happy birthday while also saying thank you to the biggest fan, the biggest supporter of this podcast.

Yeah, I'm doing all of it all wrapped up into one single episode.

The story I want to share is a story very close to me because, well, it's my story.

It's a story about one of the best years of my life.

And more importantly, it's a story about the one summer that God gave me.

Now, the biggest fan of this podcast, the one who I've got to give a happy birthday shout out to, the one who inspired me to even record this episode.

Well, that's my dad.

My dad, his name is Steve.

And oh, dad, I just want to wish you a happy birthday.

And I want to thank you for always being there, a supporter of me and a supporter of this new endeavor I've been on here with this very podcast.

Thanks, Dad.

Now, for you, I of course wanted to make this episode mean something to you.

So the story I'm about to share, it's more than just a story.

What I hope for you is that it's a reminder about life, a reminder about what truly matters, and a reminder that everything is always working out for your good.

And so sometimes you just have to trust the process.

You have to go with the flow and understand that there's really no wrong decision in life.

It's just a decision.

Each decision we make leads us down a different path.

And that path is going to lead somewhere else.

And all along the way, it's going to create our journey, our life's journey.

And sometimes it's crazy, sometimes it's beautiful, sometimes it's a nightmare, and sometimes it's a dream.

But all of that put together at the end equals life.

Now, before I dive into this story that I want to share with you, I do want to remind you that I am encouraging you, I'm asking you to get hold of me by heading over to workwithkevin.coach.

That is the website.

Go to workwithkevin.coach.

Just see the link inside of today's show notes.

And I want you to sign up for your very own free life roadmap strategy session where me and you can sit down and map out your life's roadmap.

That's right.

We all need a roadmap.

And so I want to give you a roadmap to ensure that the year in the making is the best year of your entire life.

So head on over to work with Kevin.coach to sign up today.

With that said, I introduce you to a story about me.

A story that starts when I turn 16 years old.

It's the birthday that so many of us dream about.

We grow up wishing for that day to come when we will get to be in the driver's seat behind the wheel of our own vehicle.

And well, that was true for me.

Now, for me, that sweet 16 birthday, it actually came early because while I was 15 years old, still with just my learner's permit, I would drive with my mom.

Well, I guess at that point, me in the driver's seat.

So I guess you could say my mom would drive with me to the local Publix to do our weekend grocery shopping.

Along the way, I remember it distinctly.

Here we were headed down Old Dixley Highway on our way to Publix, and we passed it.

There it was in a grassy lawn with a for sale sign stuck in the front windshield.

I didn't know the details at the time.

All I knew was it was a big truck.

A truck like I had heard my dad talk about his truck when he turned 16.

Something big, something raised, something with big mud tires.

And all I knew was, oh my gosh.

And every week, me and my mom, we would drive that same road, headed to Publix to do our grocery shopping.

And every week I would see that same truck.

And every week I would call my dad and I would tell him about that truck until finally he took me to go see it.

I remember us walking up to the truck and him telling me, oh, Kev, this truck is way too big, way too tall.

It's got way too much of a lift.

And I was like, no, Dad, this truck is perfect.

Well, lo and behold, that truck would become mine.

And on my 16th birthday, that truck was there in the driveway.

Now, of course, if it was a fancy little red sports car, maybe you would have gone out to the party store and got a big, beautiful bow to put on the hood.

No, instead, my dad took an old red grease rag, tied it into a bow, and stuck it on top of the antenna.

It was so perfect for the occasion.

But that truck, that Forest Green 96 Ford F-150 4x4, it was more than just a truck.

It was more than just my first car.

It would literally start off the best year of my life.

A year that I had no idea would be the last year of a life that I had known.

Whether it was headed to school in the morning, driving that truck, or if it was on the weekends out in the woods muddy with friends, that truck represented freedom.

The hum of its tires on the highway, windows down, radio blaring, CB whip antenna whipping in the wind.

That truck was amazing.

For my truck enthusiast, I'll let you know, she had a six-inch suspension lift with a two-inch body lift and 38-inch TSL super swampers.

Combine all of that with some dual flowmaster exhaust, and whew, baby, she was mighty fine.

When I think back to that truck, when I think back to that year, the year of being 16, I can picture me still today hopping up in that truck and taking off, out of the school parking lot, flying down the road, going way too fast, driving way too carelessly.

But hey, what else does a 16-year-old boy do?

But that truck was mine.

And it was mine because my dad saw it.

He was willing to pay for it.

He bought it for me.

He was willing to put in the work, to pay the mechanic to do the work on it.

And that truck was mine.

Now, the other part of that truck this year was that it would lead to me having to get a job.

Because one thing was known was that when we turned 16, you got to get a job.

You got to be able to pay for that gas for that big old truck.

You got to be able to pay for your insurance.

And so when I turned 16, well, matter of fact, I think I started a little bit before I turned 16, is well, I did what any Florida boy would do.

And that was I became a bag boy at Publix grocery store.

I would work at Publix in Ormond by the sea as a good old bag boy for pretty much my entire sophomore year.

I didn't much mind the job.

I mean, goodness knows, I loved talking with the people.

I loved taking the little old ladies out to their car to help them put their groceries away, hoping all the while that maybe they would give me a little tip.

And so it really wasn't so bad.

The worst part of the whole job was at the end of the shift, at the end of the night, when it was me and a couple of other people who had to then go through and mop the entire store.

Whoo, baby, you want to talk about tiring?

Go to the local public and now envision yourself mopping that whole entire place.

Whew, what a way to end the day.

I can remember jumping in my truck, rolling the window down, even in the dead of winter, flying down the road, making the long drive back to my house, and just being purely exhausted, but all the while loving that freezing cold air coming in the window as I was driving my truck.

It wasn't that bad because I had that truck that I loved to drive.

Now, when school was coming to an end of my sophomore year and summer vacation is looming ahead, me and my dad, well, we started coming up with a new plan.

And that was for me to go to work for him.

Now, my dad, he has always worked in the construction industry.

So he has heavy equipment like bulldozers.

And I grew up with him in that line of work.

So now here it was, the summer in between my sophomore and junior year, and I had a choice.

Keep working at Publix as a bag boy, or quit that job and go work for my dad.

Well, left up to the two of us, we decided one decision was clear.

I was quitting Publix and I was going to work for my dad.

Now, I don't think my mom was particularly keen on the idea of me quitting publics, but she didn't say anything.

She just went along with it.

Now, this is the part of the story when I get to what I mentioned earlier, the summer that God gave me.

Again, I had no idea.

None of us had any idea what was to come the following school year.

None of us realized that that summer was going to be the last summer of my life as I knew it.

And so I am so thankful to this day that God gave me and my dad this idea for me to quit working at Publix, to give my two weeks' notice, and go to work for him.

That would be the best summer of my life.

Now I would work hard that summer, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

Well, most of the moments.

Me and my dad, we took on some big jobs that summer, some big land clearing jobs.

Just me and him out in the woods running heavy equipment.

It was awesome.

I'd pack up a lunch for me and my dad every morning because I knew, well, I knew he wouldn't have his own lunch.

So I knew I better pack one for him.

And I remember him always telling me every day, wow, I've never eaten this good working by myself.

And well, I had us taken care of.

But like I said, we did some big jobs.

We had multiple machines out in the woods at a time.

My dad would be running his bulldozer.

I'd be running a loader or a tracco or one of those vibratory rollers to help pack down a house pad.

Whatever it was, we did some awesome stuff.

We literally took acres of woods and turned it into a person's dream home.

We went out into a hunting camp and helped them clear some roadways and made it more accessible for the hunters.

We did all kinds of these big, massive jobs.

And all the while, it was just awesome.

I got to run all the different machines.

I got to take my dad's big Ford F 550 diesel to the store to get fuel for the machines or to head down to the parts department to pick up some hoses, whatever it was.

I was just there working with my dad.

And it was absolutely awesome.

Now, of course, summer vacation would end as it always does, much to a kid's disappointment.

And school would start back.

That summer was over.

But the memories of that summer are long-lasting.

And for me, of course, as I said, that was my new job, working for my dad.

So working for him, it didn't end when school started, but it certainly did slow down a lot.

I would still help him out when I could.

And he was cool with that.

And all went perfect.

Until, of course, October came, October of 2003, when I got the news of a brain tumor.

News that would change my life, that would change our life forever.

Because, well, I would wake up from that surgery to remove that brain tumor to be left completely blind.

Becoming completely blind, it took everything from me, everything but my faith and my family.

But it took that truck, that beautiful forest green, Ford F-150 that I can still picture clear as day in my memory.

It took the ability to work with my dad, running his bulldozer, digging lakes with the tracco.

But you know what?

God let me do all of that.

Because I believe in all of my heart, in all of my being, that God knew what was going to happen.

And that's why He was making it all work out.

His hands were at work.

And that is why I am so thankful for that last summer, the summer that God gave me.

To end this story, I have to not only thank God, but I have to thank my dad.

I have to thank you, Dad, for giving me that truck, for making my 16th birthday, for making that 16th year of my life one that I will cherish forever.

Thank you, Dad.

I love you so much, and I thank you for being a supporter of this podcast, for being a supporter of me all these years later.

Because no matter how old I get, you'll always just be my dad.

Now, for you listening today, I want to remind you: nothing in this life is forever.

Nothing in this life is guaranteed.

Not the breath that we breathe or that we'll wake up tomorrow morning and all will be the same.

And that is why, if given the chance to dance, you darn sure better dance.

And whatever that looks like in your life.

Live this life for everything it's worth.

Make the most out of this very moment.

Because we never know what tomorrow will hold.

And to be honest with you, I'm glad that we don't.

I'm glad that I didn't know that was going to be my last summer.

I'm glad that I didn't know I would only get to drive that dream truck of mine for one year.

I'm glad that it all works out the way that it does.

But it does remind me that it's so important that we live this life one moment at a time and be sure that we cherish each moment as if it is our last.

And that's what I want for you.

So I know today's episode was a little different than most.

Maybe you enjoyed it.

I hope you loved it.

And hey, get out there.

And whether it's your dad, your mom, or somebody just really close to you, give them a hug and maybe share this episode with them.

My name is Kevin Lowe.

This is Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

I hope today's episode blessed you, encouraged you, brought you joy, made you smile, maybe made you tear up.

I hope it made you feel the emotions of life.

And now it's your turn to get out there and take on the day.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast to hear something that I have to say or that my guest has to share and think, wow, I wish I could be like them.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing, but I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you're wrong.

unknown: You're wrong.

SPEAKER_00: You are capable.

You are able.

And you darn sure are deserving of having all that you can imagine in this life.

There's nothing special about me or any guests I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it in this life.

And so I encourage you to take a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it too.

Now, of course, if you would like help along that way, reach out to me.

Whether that's as a listener of this podcast, a friend, or if you'd like to work with me as a coach.

My contact information is inside of every episode's show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day with grit, grace, and inspiration.