Jesse and Cayla Corkill are the parents in our Jefferson City home. They have been providing respite and foster care since receiving their license in 2020, and they have lived in our Jefferson City home for over a year. We recently caught up with them and reflected on the lessons they have learned as foster parents over the past few years.
They shared several of the highlights and lowlights they have experienced, including the nerves of welcoming new children into their home, some of the rhythms they have worked to establish with their children, and navigating emotions when a situation doesn’t work out with a child.
“I think starting off, there was that big moment of welcoming the first children we cared for into our home,” Cayla shared. “We were super nervous but also equally excited. They are actually getting ready to leave us here in the near future [to find permanency with relatives]. So it’s sad to see them go but it’s nice to know that we have been a part of their story and have helped in some way.”
Jesse and Cayla have established a routine of doing 15 minutes of quiet time in the evenings with their children. They said this has been a special part of their day, to take a moment to wind down and spend one on one time with their children.
“Fostering has definitely made it more apparent how much I need God’s help,” Jesse said. “If you try to do it without God’s help, you end up acting out of what you can offer, which is not a whole lot. Whenever you’re plugged in to God and you’re listening, what comes out of your mouth is a lot easier on kids’ ears for sure.”
Cayla shared that fostering has helped her see and more deeply appreciate the redemptive love of God.
“I would say that foster care and faith are kind of interconnected because, for me, in parenting these kids, I’m able to appreciate and understand the love of the Father more,” she shared. “While I’m working with these kids, you know, he’s slowly and patiently working with me on my own stuff, and that is just so gracious of him and so beautiful in and of itself.”
Through the ups and downs of their foster care journey, the Corkills have been able to persevere by focusing on showing up for the children in their home.
“Knowing that no matter what, a win with a kid is not necessarily adopting them or keeping them forever,” Jesse said. “A win is knowing that you added something to that kid’s life, whether it was establishing good habits, helping them know more of their self-value, or if they left my home with more examples of structure than they came in with. And even if some behaviors did remain hard, they still had a safe place to stay and consistent food, and that is a win on its own.”
We are so grateful for the Corkills’ heart to serve children well, and provide a safe home for children in the Jefferson City area.
“I’d say a safe home is giving them a place to work through the hard stuff they’ve been through,” Cayla said. “Just being there for them when they’re ready to express that and not judging them or the trauma they’ve been through.”
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