Answering God’s Call – A Foster Care Journey

Readers always have a favorite author, but stories are written in many ways. Hebrews 12:2 calls Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith,” and Psalm 139 tells us “All of your days were written before you were born.”

Jenna Nerstad of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, could never have imagined what she now sees as her “perfect story.”

Loss, tears and her repeated “no” led to surprising joy when she said “yes!”

“I’m so grateful I followed where God led me,” she said.

Growing up in Auburn, Alabama, Jenna never thought about foster children and their families. She just wanted to grow up, marry the man of her dreams and have babies. In 2007, she married Joey, and in 2015, Jenna gave birth to their first child, Cooper. She and Joey were thrilled in 2017 when she became pregnant again; the devastation of miscarriage was heartbreaking. Even worse, she was told she could not give birth again.

“My heart was shocked!” Jenna said. “I love kids – we both do. And we didn’t feel our family was complete.” In their grief, they continued to volunteer in the kids’ ministry at Good News Church as they raised their son. In 2019, their church participated in the Embrace Florida Kids Embrace Christmas offering, and Jenna began to learn how to serve kids in new ways. Embrace offered foster care classes in 2020, and while facing a pandemic, Jenna and Joey enrolled, feeling called to foster.

“We still had resources and love to give,” Jenna said. Soon the call came, and they began fostering a precious little boy. “One thing fostering let us do as a family was to be the hands and feet of Jesus together,” Jenna said. “It’s humbling and life giving that we were chosen to fill this role. God used our gifts with children and our story of miscarriage” to provide a loving, supportive home. Joey and Jenna were heavy hearted when the judge returned the child they loved to his family in Tennessee. The Nerstads began to help other foster parents through respite care rather than accepting a full-time foster child as their disappointed hearts recovered. “It hurts,” she said. “Sometimes it’s ugly and it’s messy, but God sustained us.”

In 2021, the Nerstads got a call asking them to accept a baby. “I wasn’t planning on taking a baby,” she said. “I didn’t have any baby things. My husband traveled at the time. It did not seem like something I was ready to do.” She said no. A few days later, the phone rang again. Another baby needed a home. Again, Jenna said no. She was still grappling with the loss of their first foster child. “[Saying no] weighed heavy on me, though,” she admitted. Of course, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9), so when Jenna got a call for yet another baby, she said “YES!”

“I did feel that third call was a nudge from God,” she said. “Three calls in one week, and each one was for a baby! To me, that was it.”

Immediately, 15-day-old Philip joined his foster family. Realizing that Jenna and Joey had nothing they might need for an infant, their church family jumped in with a bassinet, diapers, new and gently used clothes, bottles, formula and more. “We had everything we needed within hours,” Jenna said. Philip’s biological parents struggled with addiction, and Philip arrived with withdrawals and tremors. At age 1, Philip was reunified with his biological parents, and although it was hard, Jenna and Joey offered support through babysitting, visits and more. Philip soon returned to Jenna and Joey’s care. The Nerstads adopted Philip in August 2024, and the challenges paled in comparison to the rewards. “Philip is a thriving 3-year-old, and he and Cooper have such a sweet sibling bond. We are blessed beyond measure, and we are so glad we listened to God’s calling.”

Jenna praised the Embrace Florida Kids staff for their guidance, encouragement and help. “The reason Philip is safe and okay is that Embrace encouraged us, taught us, walked alongside us,” Jenna said. “It was all new and scary to us, not being from a family that is broken in that particular way, but the Embrace staff were always a step ahead, showing us what to do and how to do it.” Jenna said Embrace wanted the best outcome for Philip, but staff always considered the best outcome for her family and for Philip’s biological parents. “Embrace is changing lives daily by helping children and families.”

Because he was with the Nerstads since he was an infant, Philip does not realize they are not his biological parents. At age 3, he just knows they love him, he is safe with them and they are his family. “He has no idea yet that we are not Mom and Dad,” Jenna said. “But he will know his story. God chose us to do this, and He chose Philip for us.

“We don’t know what’s next. We are still licensed to foster, but we are not accepting fosters right now. We are filling our cups back up. We’re not sure what the rest of our story looks like, but we would do it again. God writes the best stories!”