Identity In Christ With Kirti Pickard

Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of the Thriving Adoptees Podcast. Today I'm delighted to be joined by Kirti, Kirti Picard. Looking forward to our conversation, uh, you really blew me away last week, Kirti.

Well, thank you, Simon. I'm so glad to be here and it is a privilege to always be able to share your story. So yeah, thank you for this time.

Yeah, you're so welcome, you're so welcome. So we've had a few younger adoptees on, and you're coming up 19, did you say, when we spoke last?

Correct.

Yeah, yeah. So it's great to have those young adoptees on as well as the people in my generation, right, and the generation between the two. So listeners, Kirti was adopted from India at four. You were you were four, right? And now you're in South Dakota.

Correct.

Yeah. And that's where you that's where you've grown up and you're at high school and then she she's looking to go you're looking to go on to to college and be do was it OB-GYN is it obstetrics and gynecology is that what it means? Yeah.

Sorry.

specialist, specialist doctor. So listeners, what, what Kitty blew me away with, and she— you really got me thinking and feeling the kind of like the whole day through after our conversation, because your, your, your energy and your brightness is just kind of incandescent. It's really luminous. Uh, and you, you— so to me, like, you're kind of like embodying thriving to me.

Well, thank you.

Yeah, yeah. And, and it's all the more profound because I know that it hasn't always been that way for you. You have had some, would you say, anger? Did you— I heard you interviewed, um, by Dr. Rick of Lifeline, who's a been on the, on the show. Um, yeah, was it, was it anger that you had? What, how would you describe the kind of the, the dark stuff and share a little bit more about that?

Yeah, so, well, first I'll take you back. Um, so I was abandoned right away as a baby, um, in the streets of Haryana, India. Um, I was right away found, luckily, by, um, some local authorities who had brought me to an orphanage Um, and that is where I spent the first 3 and a half years of my life, was in that orphanage in India. Um, and then my now parents, Sam and Eve, um, they came over and then picked me up, and we had spent about 6 months in America, um, before I was legally theirs. So then at 4, I was adopted. Um, and my adoption was never something that I was all too curious about. I never really took the interest in. And my parents, um, I just want to say my parents are awesome and I'm so grateful to have them. And they were very big on, hey Kiersey, if you at all are interested in your adoption story, please let us know. We would love to help you. Um, like, we want to support you in any way we can. And that's something that I never really took them up on just because it never really mattered to me. But what I found out was actually what I had was a lot of bitterness and resentment that was kind of pushed down because I guess I didn't really know how to label those emotions. It was kind of just like, whatever, like it is what it is. But as I got older, it started to become more of a frustration with my birth mom and a disappointment, like why is she not here? And Um, as an adoptee, I think there's always— or I don't want to say always. Um, as an adoptee, there's always, or oftentimes, the chance of, um, having a lot of strong emotions, of maybe not the fun emotions, maybe the anger, the disappointment, um, towards your birth parents. And I definitely was not an exception to that. That's something that I definitely felt. Um, so yeah, I would say there was a lot of emotions, but I'm So happy now because I can see it from the, from a different lens. And now I don't have bitterness and anger towards my birth mom. Now I just, I have a profound, like, perspective on who she is. And I've never met her, but I, yeah, I just have, I hold her with great esteem and I truly appreciate the woman that she is.

Yeah. Wow. So you said a different lens.

Yeah.

Can you tell us, can you tell us the, the, the, the story of the lens change? Yeah.

Um, so I, like I said, I was very, um, like not involved with my adoption story at all. It didn't matter to me at all. Um, but what did change in my life, um, that I got into— I think I was 17 or so, and I have 2 great friends of mine who are walking through the adoptions process. The difference was theirs was an open adoption and it was domestic. Um, so that means that parents can be involved in the adoption still, and, um, like the kids and the parents can still have um, open relationship, and domestically means it's just within, um, our region. So, um, they had had that experience, and I had the privilege to kind of just see that story up close. And what I saw was this birth mom who was wrestling with this decision to essentially give up her child, and it was I guess I never saw my abandonment that way. I never thought that my mom would wrestle with that decision. I always thought that it was just— it was an easy decision. I don't know why, but, um, after seeing this, um, story unfold with my friends and the story of their adoptive— or their biological mom for their kid, um, it just made me realize that Well, maybe this actually is a harder decision, and maybe I should be giving my birth mom some grace. Um, I don't know the whole story. And that ultimately did turn my eyes to God, and it led me to ask more questions to him who, who does know the answers. So, um, and I will say with that, I didn't get all the answers that I was hoping for. But what I did find was this peace where I now can look at my adoption story and I don't wrestle with the what-ifs and the whys and the what-have-yous because I ultimately have peace that God has the situation handled and God wants me here in America. God wants me here with the Pickard family. Then it doesn't really matter what road I took to get here. So I think that's a huge perspective shift that I had, and all credit goes to God for that because it was ultimately him that softened my heart towards my own birth mom and put me in the position to see this incredible story up close. So yeah, it's been, it's been really neat.

Yeah. Do you remember the Do you remember the moment when the, the feeling softened? You, you obviously, you've been watching your, your friends go through this process. What, were there a series of moments over which the softening happened? Was it kind of like one big, big one? Explain more.

Yeah, so there were 2 moments. Uh, one, it was my oh crap moment. I need to do something about this. Um, and that was I was super angry with this birth mom, my friend's birth mom, as I, I was upset because she wasn't signing the papers and she wasn't saying that she would give up the baby. And I remember being so angry, and I just, in my anger, I had said to God, why will she not just give up? And it just hit me so, so hard. And I feel like God just allowed me to stop in that moment to hear my own words. And he just let me hear my own words. And then he stopped and said, Kirti, you're upset with her for doing something that your birth mom never did for you. You're upset with her for fighting for her child. And it could be argued that your mom didn't fight for you. So clearly, it's not the mom that you're upset with. It's not the birth mom that you see now. Maybe there's some other things that you have have to still wrestle with. And then that was kind of my my wake-up call to okay, I need to address this because if I do ever see adoption in my future, I never want there to be a point where my kid would come up to me and. and ask me about adoption, and then I would have to let them know that I've never actually dove into my own adoption story. I've never wrestled with that. I've never had the hard conversations, so honestly, I can't help you. So that was a really big wake-up call for me as I realized that there was more to my story and that this isn't completely resolved, and God still had things to show me in it. So that was my first time, and that had led to me ultimately like diving into my adoption story, and I went all in. I was so ready to just find her, and I nose to the grindstone just was go, go, go. And in that, I had reached out to my orphanage, some friends that we were around when my adoption was happening, and just grasping at anywhere to find answers. And I remember I'd reached out to one of my friends and I had said that, hey, I'm looking into my adoption story. Do you have any— like, can you help me at all? And she was like, well, honestly, I don't know, um, but I, I do want to let you know something though. I was like, okay, well— she's like, I just want to remind you of how much that God loves you and how much that he cares for you, and there's nothing about your adoption story that can change how much that God loves you. And you may not have the answers, and that's okay, but there's a God in heaven who does know the answers. So go to him and tell him, tell him you're angry, tell him what's on your mind and the things you want him to know about your adoption story, and allow him to be at the center. And I thought it was a really sweet message, but I, I went on and I continued to pursue my adoption story. And I had taken a DNA test. I had taken Ancestry. And let me tell you, Simon, I was so prepared for meeting my birth mom. I was so excited. Just, I can't even tell you how much joy I had at the thought of meeting her. And then I had looked at my adoption, or I had looked at my DNA results and it said Kirti Pickard, no parents found. And it was like all of that momentum, all that excitement, all that joy just hit a wall. And I, I was super upset. And I remember the first thing that came to my mind was just that anger like that we talked about before. It was that anger and that disappointment towards my birth mom. And I just—

Yeah.

I can't describe it anything else except anger. Just that she was not there and that she wouldn't show up. And then at that time, I did remember that text message that my friend sent me and that she said, give it to God. And I did, and I just let God have it. I got angry and I told him everything, and I just said, I don't know what you're doing right now. I feel like I am trying— I feel like I'm running through walls to find her and nothing's happening. Like, you have led me to a dead end? Why is this, God? Um, I thought you wanted me to find her. And in that, in that still moment, I just remember hearing God saying, this was never my plan, Keerti. This was yours. And I was like, oh. I was really taken aback by that. And he had just said that my desire was never that you would find her, but that you would find me as your Heavenly Father. That when you look back at your story, it wouldn't matter who your birth mom is, who even your adoptive parents are, but that you would look back and you'd see your Heavenly Father. You would see me, and you would know that I loved you first, because before there was them, there was me. So I think that was also a really, um, huge perspective changer, was once I could see God as my Heavenly Father And I could recognize his love for me, nothing about my story mattered anymore because I knew that I was exactly where I'm supposed to be because God had sent me right where I am. I am supposed to be in America. I'm supposed to be in South Dakota. This is, this is where Keerti is supposed to be. So nothing about my story matters compared to God's will for my life.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Thank you.

Absolutely gobsmackingly amazing, really. And listeners, I don't know if you realize, but I'm not a kind of a believer in God, but what— not like Katie is, right? Um, and yet the profundity of it, it's like I keep on, I keep on sensing this, right? That I keep on sensing that. What have you heard the word Christ consciousness? Have you heard that word?

Christ consciousness.

Christ consciousness.

I don't think I have actually.

It's just two words that sum up what you've just been talking about. Right, okay. So I believe in consciousness. Um, I'm not— I, I— you believe in Christ consciousness, but I'm, I'm okay with the fact that you call it something slightly different to me. But how you talk about it makes it gives it such power, gives Christ consciousness. Get, you know, like you said, well, I, I was— I think what you said was, I was God's child before I was my birth mother's child and before my adoptive. So it's the whole kind— for me, it's like identity in Christ. Does that—

Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah. So identity in Christ and Christ consciousness are just different ways, 2 different ways, just like the 2 different ways of expressing the same thing. It's a sum up, right? And I, I just, I just know that this consciousness stuff— And call it Christ consciousness. 2, I just know that it's so much more powerful than our psychology, right? The, the, the, the, the psychologists and the psychiatrists have kind of had, had their way too long. They've, they've put themselves forward As the healers, but the potency of what they do fails, um, fades into all significance compared to the potency of what you're talking about.

Yeah.

So we— a lot of us are barking up the wrong tree. Absolutely.

We— I think sometimes we get so focused on the logistics and that just having all these answers and just to understand everything that we completely miss that we're not called to know all, all things. That's not our job. We're simply the creation, and there is a Creator. And that Creator, he has all the answers. But we, like, what a privilege it is to have that weight taken off of us. We don't have to have all the answers, whether it's adoption or whether it's something maybe smaller scale in your life, or all these questions that we have. We don't, we don't need to have all the answers, but we do have a direct line to somebody who does have all the answers. So to approach with this humility, to understand that We, we are not all-knowing. And to just approach God with that, with that boldness, to just say, God, I don't know, can you show me? And he, he delights in that. Like, he enjoys— one, he enjoys conversation with us. He loves to be with us. And two, I think God appreciates that humble approach. but with that boldness as well, that humility to recognize that we don't have the answers, but that boldness to, that to have such a desire to have the answers.

So are you talking about the end of seeking, the end of seeking answers and, and, and, and giving, uh, relinquishing that seeking?

Yeah, we just—

and bringing, bringing us peace, right? So we don't have to seek anymore because we don't need to know the answers. God has the answers, so stop seeking. Katie, is that what— is that what this is about?

Um, I think there is. I think when it comes to just finding the answers because we just need to know, I think that's one thing versus seeking God in the answers. So when we go— and I was just seeking answers, I was just wanting to know where my birth mom was, why all these things happened, and I was very, uh, looking at it from a logistical standpoint— where I— my perspective was shifted as God gave me just his peace. And with his peace, all of those questions didn't matter as much because I just could recognize that it didn't matter. And I hope that's making sense. I hope that what I'm saying is, um—

You're talking about the end of the, the end of little questions.

Yeah.

With— through a big answer, and, and God is the answer. Basically, yeah. Yeah. So like the, the word logistics, right? So you, you, we're saying these are small questions. Yeah, the, uh, we, we think that peace is to be found in the answers to the small questions, but peace isn't to be found there. It, it, it's in something that— it's in a, um, a bigger— it's in a bigger question and an answer to a bigger question.

Yeah, I think, um, our peace isn't found in our answers but in, in what God gives us.

Yeah, because you, you quite— you, you've been quite specific about the, the shift the change in perspective happening rather than you making the change in perspective happen, right? So you didn't go out thinking, I'm going to, I'm going to change my perspective.

Yeah.

The, the perspective was changed for you by God rather than something that Katie made happen.

Correct. Yes.

Yeah. And one of the challenges is we live in a Western society where we think that we make the changes happen, and we don't, because the changes happen to us when we, when we open to that.

Yeah.

So I just want to take you right back to the start and the orphanage stuff.

Okay.

Because have you heard— do you remember much about the experience in the orphanage?

I don't, no, not at all.

Have you heard— well, how have your stories been about— what have you heard about how orphanages are?

I haven't heard great things about all orphanages. There are some orphanages that really take care of the kids and that are super beneficial to their creating their stories. There are some that just because of finances, they just may not be as nice. And there's always, there's always Uh, a spectrum of quality with anything. So yeah.

Yeah. The, the one story that I've heard that sends shivers, shivers through my bone, it is a, a quote that I heard from, from somebody that worked in an orphanage, and it was something like When they— when the kids stop crying, we know that it's— that we know that they're ready for adoption. So they've— they've— when, when the kid has— when the kid realizes nobody's coming and stops crying, when they've stopped crying because they know that nobody's coming. Then they're ready to be adopted, and that sends shivers down my spine because I see— well, I put myself in the orphan's shoes, and it scares the hell out of me. You know, the fact that we've become None. When the orphan is is none, then the orphan is ready to be adopted. And and so we've kind of we've given up on our cries being answered. We've given up on being picked up. So whilst I get the logic of the spectrum of the care that kids receive in orphanages, that kind of, that echo of, what if that had been me, really lands. And if I put that, if I put the kind of the orphans experience next to what you've just been sharing, it makes what you've been talking about even more remarkable. Do you get where I'm going on this? That makes sense.

Um, kind of just saying that The— there's so many probabilities or, um, things that could happen in an orphanage, so it really is a, um, miracle anytime that a kid is able to be adopted out, just because you don't know the circumstances.

Yeah. Um, let me put it like this, right? The profundity of your turnaround story gets dialed up when I think that you were in an orphanage for 3 and a half years. So it, it, it either speaks to how well you were treated in that orphanage, or, or, or your, uh, your abil— uh, you know, your ability, God's ability to turn it around for you.

Yeah.

I mean, it, it, it's a— it seems like it, it, it adds weight to the turnaround story. It adds, uh, It dials up the miracle factor for me. Yeah. So then you're back into that, into God's miracle, God's miracle territory rather than a human story.

Yeah.

How was this?

How's this?

How are these realizations? Because it's been just over the last 2 years, right? If you're coming up 19, Correct. And you were 17 when your friends were— your best friends were going through this, uh, um, their, their adoption journey and bringing home, well, this domestic, uh, that they have adopted through an open domestic adoption. How old's the— how old's their child now?

Uh, I think a year old or so.

Right. Okay, yeah. So how has that— this is still, this is still quite fresh for you— how has that changed your view of God?

View of God? Um, oh man, it's, it's pretty awesome. I, I'm so privileged to have the story that I do have. Because I get to see God in this beautiful light that before I just did not see Him in. Because now I can see Him just as such a good Father, and I never really understood that. Um, just because I always saw God as this super strong being and that He reigns over everything and that He is all-powerful, which He is. Um, but then to see him with the gentleness of a father and see him as just my dad that loves me, it's so much different. And it's so beautiful to think of that because now I just think of how much my adoptive dad, um, here, Sam, how he provides for me, cares for me, and loves me. And then I think of how much greater that is, um, to think of my Heavenly Father that way. And there was also a part of me that I can look at God and look at my story, and now that I can see just how much God has been working through my story, even right away when I was abandoned, he saw me when I was abandoned. He made sure I was in an orphanage. He made sure I got out of that orphanage, and then now I'm here. He allowed me to see this adoption story up close and then called me out on my own adoption story. So he allowed all these things to happen, and then he was in all of those times. So then to look back and see that, I can look into my future and just have such a great confidence that God will provide for me then too, because he provided for me even when I didn't know him. How much more is He going to provide for me when I am intentionally seeking Him and desiring that relationship even more? So, I think it just amplifies my appreciation for God's miracles, also just recognizing how much He has provided for me, and just strengthens my confidence that He will provide for me.

Yeah, you said calling you out.

Yeah.

Yeah. Um, can you talk a little bit more about that?

I think just calling me out because I, I can be a little bit stubborn, I've been told. So, uh, I guess I kind of thought that I just had everything with my adoption story figured out. I thought I had peace with everything when really In reality, I think what did happen is that I started avoiding the topic altogether, um, so that I just didn't have to think about it and that I didn't have to address anything. And then God calling me out and saying, hey, no, if you're gonna adopt when you're older, like, I want you to go through this experience now. I want you to wrestle with your story and really just find me in it. before you pursue anything with adoption when you're older, because this is where you need to be. This is what you need to address first before you can get— you have to take, uh, step A before you get to step D. So, um, kind of just recognizing the order that things have to be in, if that makes sense.

Yeah, it, it does. And, um, we have— I don't think we touched on, on that so far. The— you've had a, an idea Or maybe, I don't know, a stronger word than idea. You've had this in, in your heart for, for a while to adopt when you're, when you're older. Yeah.

Yeah. Um, I guess I always just had that thought of like, well, it happened to me. So, um, like I was adopted and I'm so beyond grateful for that. So I hope that I can pass that on. And that I can turn around and care for somebody else just as much as somebody cared for me. So whether it's through adoption or foster care, or you can always care for kids in different capacities, that has led me to— yeah, I always want to keep my story at the center of what I do because of how much of a role it plays in my life and who I am. So I never want to forget my adoption story or forget what happened. I want to, in fact, just keep it at the center and use it as a driving point for my future and for the things I want to do.

Yeah. So one of the things that's, um, coming clear to me is I've had this idea really that, that the, the light that, the, the light that, uh, sorry, the The light that we are, or God's light if we were to look at it from a religious perspective, um, it doesn't have a dimmer switch.

Yes, I agree.

Um, what happens is the, the light is veiled, right? The light is veiled, and the, the light is veiled by our, our trauma, our feelings, right? So anger, frustration, Those are the kind of the main feelings that you've talked about. So it seems to me that they are veils of the light that we are. Um, so what— but so, so many others, maybe less religious people, are looking for enlightenment. We, we only look— we only look for enlightenment because we haven't realized that we are actually the light. That makes sense. We're looking outside.

Yeah, and we're completely dismissing that it's really just, um, recognizing that it's God, um, and that when we allow him in, um, to our lives, and we are bold in, um, our reflection of Christ, that his light would be shown through us. So it's not this outside factor, but really it's, um, God coming in.

Yeah, yeah. So people talk about— I've heard this said, uh, what, what we are looking for is where we are looking from. If, yeah, what we're looking for is where we are looking from, you know, like identity in Christ. The identity is in Christ, it's there, but we're looking outside. That's the mistake that many of us look— we look outside ourselves rather than looking, uh, looking within. So Do you want to talk a little bit about your nonprofit and what led you to start that? Because clearly it's been, it's been driven by the perspective change that has happened for you over the last couple of years.

Yeah, um, so Mission 143 is the nonprofit that I started, um, in— it was August 8th of 2024. So it was kind of honestly in the thick of me pursuing my adoption story and everything. But yeah, this started when I kind of just want— I saw the goodness of adoption and I wanted to just support others in their story and I wanted to bring attention to the issue itself. So 143 stands for the 143 million-plus orphans that are globally. So with that, knowing that, I wanted to start an organization that would help support, equip, and serve people and organizations that are affiliated with adoption and foster care. So I wanted to support others because the goal is never to reinvent the wheel. Instead, just get behind others who are already doing great work. So we sell apparel where 100% of the proceeds go to organizations that are already doing great work. And then the apparel also shares the story and the mission of Mission 143, which is James 1:27 is at the center, which where it says, pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. So a lot of our branding is centered around the 143 to bring attention to that huge number. Um, and then so we support through our clothing and the finances there, and then we also built a website that is, um, where people can kind of come and learn about the different avenues they can go if they're interested in adoption or foster care, what different ways that they can approach it. So that's just educating others on how they can get involved and then kind of just being the bridge for knowledge. And then equip—

Serve.

Or, and then serve, sorry, is for people like me who, like, I can't adopt right now and I can't foster, but I still really have a heart for caring for kids in that capacity. So what can I do? So on your— on our website, you'll also see serving opportunities that are in so many different capacities. There's a summer camp, there's sorting clothes, there's supporting— maybe it's just like a weekend you have a kid. So Harbor Families, and then it's just getting people involved with local organizations and then supporting them through that. Cool.

What have I not asked you about, Katie?

What have you not asked me about? I'm not sure. The thriving part, you mentioned a little bit about that.

Yeah, so it does— does God drive your thriving? Is that—

100%. I believe that thriving— I believe that to thrive is to live out of your God-centered identity, um, your God-given identity. So thriving only begins when you are Pursuing your purpose through Christ.

Yeah, so it kind of blows away little ideas that we've got about self-esteem, right?

Yeah, I agree.

It's just like we're looking in the wrong place.

Yeah, I think a lot of people They think that they— again, it goes to having all the answers. We think that we have all the answers and that we can do it all on our own, but in reality, we are not the orchestrators of our lives, and that is God. So that if we have questions, we should be going to him because he is the one that has the answers. So pursuing him over pursuing a life that's completely from us. I mean, one will be greatly successful for eternity, and one will be great for the next 60 years, or how many years you live.

Yeah. What, what would you say to, to somebody that— well, I don't know whether— if people are— if some people are turned off by religion I would imagine that they haven't got this far into the episode, right? They'll have just said, no, this is— I don't believe this. I don't believe in this. So I'm off. I'm off. But if by chance somebody is just hanging on in there with this, what would you say to them, Kitty?

Oh, I There is a verse in Jeremiah. It's Jeremiah 29:13. It says, if you seek me wholeheartedly, you'll find me. And I— my personal testimony, like my faith testimony, can speak greatly about this verse alone because I, um, my dad's a pastor and I still, uh, didn't find my faith until I was 16 years old. So, but that took me wrestling and finding God and questioning, and I just questioned and questioned and questioned, and I just like, I just wanted to know. So you— how I guess I would just say is like, seek him. Don't, don't try to take this, um, don't settle for a watered-down idea of God and don't settle for, um, this— your parents' faith or anything like that. Find your faith. Find God. Pursue him. You don't have to have, um, you don't have to have all the answers. You just have to go and open your heart up to him and the idea that you need a savior. You need something that is greater than yourself. to pursue this life and to continue.

Yeah. Wisdom, you, you, you said that you didn't find this till you were 16?

Correct.

Do you remember the moment when you did, or—

Yeah. Um, I, I remembered for months— it was my freshman year of high school— for months I wrestled with, is God even real? And I remember the first thing that I did, I bought a Bible and I started reading it. And let me tell you, it did not make sense at all. And I was reading and I kept just trying to understand it, and none of it made sense. But I kept going and I kept praying the same prayer: God, if you are real, show yourself to me. And for months I prayed this prayer. And then I remember So I was sitting at the, uh, end of the stair steps at my gym, and it was a Saturday morning, and the gym owner had approached me, and he was just like, hey, QT, how are you doing? I was like, good. Um, and he was telling me about just things different happening with the gym and stuff, and I had complimented him, and I just said, you seem to be a very wise person. Because he was talking about how he's seeking advice from somebody. I was like, you seem like a really wise person. Why are you seeking advice? Um, and he had appreciated the compliment, and then he said, but actually my wisdom doesn't come from me. My wisdom comes from God. When I was 14, I prayed that God would give me wisdom like Solomon. So I don't know if you're familiar with Solomon's story, but when, um, He was— he had just become king, I think it was, um, and God had come to him in a dream and said, what would you like? I'll give you anything. Um, and Solomon was like, I just want wisdom. And then because he asked for wisdom, God gave him everything. Um, and he, my friend, um, had taken that story to heart when he was 14, and since then he's been praying for wisdom. And I remember leaving that conversation and I was just like, wow, this is wild. Like, um, I didn't know that you had to pray for wisdom. And then I had boiled it down to 2 ideas. Either one, this guy's, um, he's just being— or 3 things. One, this guy's just being really humble and he's giving God the credit because that's what you do. 2, he might be a little crazy because that's just weird. Or 3, there is a God, he is real, and he gives wisdom, and he gives the things that we desire and that we pray for. Um, and then I remember it was, uh, February 25th of 2023. Um, I had prayed my first genuine prayer, and I had just asked God, give me wisdom. I don't know if you're real, but if you are, I pray that you would just give me this wisdom. Um, and then I remember I was reading the same exact Bible that I was for the past couple months, and I would open it and I read it. And it sounds crazy, and it kind of is, but the words, it just made sense. What I was reading, it made sense. And, um, I started applying these things because I'm like, this is a, this is a really old book, yet a lot of these things still apply to this day. I wonder if, like, it really does matter. And that once I started applying these things, my life was changing. So it— yeah, it was just— I can— yeah, God is crazy, and when you pursue Him, He will show Himself, and it is beautiful. Yeah.

Wow. Feels like a good place to bring it in, Katie.

All right. Yeah.

Thank you, listeners. Thank you, Keita. You've been a star. You are a star. Thanks all.

Thank you.