By Christa Blankenship

My husband and I have been a foster-to-adopt family with Buckner for several years now. Each child who has entered our home has been a blessing to us.

It’s hard to believe we were opposed to fostering in the beginning. We didn’t want the revolving door, or to have our hearts broken from getting too attached. Had we decided not to foster, we wouldn’t have our sweet, energetic, blue eyed, 3-year-old, Taylor.

He came to us at 7 months old, and we were blessed to adopt him this past year. We were so excited! You see, this was a first child for me; I had struggled with the heartbreak of infertility for many years.

After the adoption we decided to keep fostering. We continued to love God’s children and to see what he had in store for us as we built our forever family.

One day we received a call from Buckner about a placement of a 4-month-old baby boy, Isaac. We were excited to have him in our home, if only for a little while. The minute that child entered our home, we were head over heels in love with him and his huge, dark eyes and spiky black hair.

We figured there would never be a chance for him to stay with us permanently, but we continued to foster him and love him as our own. He and Taylor became the best of buddies. One day out of the blue, we were called and told the case had taken a drastic turn. This little angel would be up for adoption after all.

My heart was pounding; I was so excited I could have jumped through the phone.

He is now 17 months old and is such a gift. We were so grateful the Lord entrusted us with these two boys and that we would be a forever family. It was all we ever wanted and more.

Evidently the Lord had other plans for us. CPS contacted us one afternoon to tell us Isaac had a baby sibling on the way and asked if we would be interested in taking care of him. After the initial shock, we agreed to take care of this precious child as well.

We saw him at the hospital for the first time. There he was, sweet baby David, so tiny and beautiful. We knew we needed to give this a try. We needed to see if, at 50 years old, we could take care of three boys under the age of 3.

We had a sibling adoption on National Adoption Day: November 14. We are overjoyed and so blessed to have these three beautiful boys. We could not imagine our lives without them and are so glad we remained open to what God had in store.

Where is God leading you in your journey? Listen to his voice and receive the blessings he has for you!

Jimmie and Christa Blankenship care deeply for children. They have placed their trust in the Lord to guide, direct and build their family.

Prayer of the Week:
-God, we thank you for the goodness you show to all who put their trust in you. Help us to be sensitive to your leading in our lives and increase our faith in you.

Editor’s note: This devotional was taken from Faith Focus, our weekly devotional email written by Buckner staff, foster and adoptive families, mission trip participants, volunteers and more. Click here to sign up to receive Faith Focus in your inbox every Monday. November is National Adoption Month. To learn more about the ways you can Be A Family to a vulnerable child through Buckner, please visit www.beafamily.org.