Lisa Harper

And after a little small talk, she quoted a verse.

It's always crazy to me how people can take one verse out of the Bible and take it so far out of context.

And she said, the Bible says that the wounds of the friend are better than the kiss of an enemy.

So I want to be a friend to you.

She said, I don't know if you're even thinking about adoption, but you've told us in small group about how there was abuse in your backstory.

She said, so I think you've sabotaged your shot at parenthood.

So she said, I don't think you should adopt a child, but I know you want to nurture something.

So my encouragement would be for you to go to the Nashville Humane Society and adopt a dog because you're really good with pets.

And y'all, I just remember going, wow.

And I printed out an adoption application, but I already thought I wasn't good enough being single.

And I already thought it's just there's this Holy Spirit was saying, well, there's a lot of kids that will never have a mom and a dad.

You're in the country.

For those kids, it's better.

But I was so...

I just didn't have the wisdom to go, this woman's a crooked little tree, and she's not bearing good fruit, and I need to be respectful, but I don't need to heed what's falling out of her mouth, because God doesn't use shame as a motivational tool.

And so I took the adoption application, put it in the back of my file drawer, and for seven years I didn't do anything.

Wow.

And in His mercy, seven years later, He brought it back around.

Come on.

And I lost two adoptions, one at the 11th hour that just broke my heart.