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This is really more of a story about a time when determination, grit, all those things came into play and it just saw me through a super tough time
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So it's called Three Words, Courage, Dedication, and Determination. On a certain day, in a certain year, my eyes opened in the stillness of the yet dark morning
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I lay in my bed, covers pulled up under my chin. I was listening
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It was quiet. Quiet was something to be thankful for. There were three small bodies sleeping peacefully in their own rooms and their own beds
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and the dog was sleeping on the floor at the foot of my bed
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I closed my eyes, hoping the sun would sleep for just a few minutes more
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There's a quote that says, Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway
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A man named Marian Robert Morrison made that quote famous. He was later called John Wayne
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I was feeling anything but courageous that day, and not that that was any different from any other day in the past year
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except this was going to take a prayer and a strong tailwind
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to get me to work on an empty tank of gas in my old suburban. I was going to have to put on a smile when I wanted to cry and get my babies off to school
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Go on about my day and face the challenges of a newly single mom fresh from an abusive relationship
1:29
and it was going to take courage. I dedicated myself to an early morning routine that included the decision that it was going to be the best day it could be
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as setting the bar kind of low. I lowered my covers and slipped out of bed the sun glancing above the horizon I slipped into some jeans and a t went downstairs to start breakfast and before the crew tumbled out of their beds I dedicated myself to making their morning bright with a smile words of encouragement for the day ahead and loaded them on the bus climbed in my truck
2:03
Courage and dedication came with a certain amount of fear as a side dish
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I was determined to give my little family a good happy life with adventures and opportunities
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we tasted all the sweetness that youth had to offer and there were some bitter tears
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our fun was all of the richness that cost no dollars we hung our own art on the wall and we sang songs of our souls
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my kids had no idea we weren't wealthy because we were rich
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in a certain year my dedication with a dose of determination a lot of courage and guided by faith
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led me to a place where I could feel safe in my body these three little souls helped me hold true
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to my course they didn't carry my load but they sure eased the burden the sweetness in their faces
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the innocence in their eyes doubled and redoubled my determination to succeed maybe I'm not what
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someone would call a success, I don't care. I know the mountain I climbed and the monsters I faced
3:04
on the way. And with a little courage, dedication, and most of all, determination, I made it
3:12
I love that. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. It sounds like, yeah, Michael just wrote
3:22
it's not determination with love. It sounds like you were determined, but
3:25
also motivated by the love for your children yeah
