May 16. Paul Holcroft. Paul is not a man to take the easy road. He quit a good job in the business world to study theology full time. Besides that, Paul and his wife Colleen are foster parents and have cared for children ranging in age from newborn to 8 years old.
Paul is quick to point out that God’s grace “gets us through day by day.” To help other foster families get through day by day, Paul and Colleen started a support group. Here’s his story.
Whatever it costs, investing in people yields eternal dividends.
“But why, Paul? These kids have a lot of issues… If you aren’t trying to adopt, why open yourself up to the problems?”
Paul didn’t know what to say to his friend Brian. He almost had a point. Just as well he couldn’t stay and talk.
Paul and his wife Colleen felt they had a full, satisfied life together. With large extended families, church friends, jobs they enjoyed, and a funny pet beagle, they weren’t interested in much else outside these circles.
But at a summer barbecue with friends, the conversation turned to the story of an orphan baby in need of a foster family. It was weeks before family services could find a family for her.
Hey, we could do that; we could take care of babies.
“And that was completely out of character for me,” Paul said later. “I knew it must be from God.”
Paul’s idea surprised Colleen, too, but she agreed.
Months later, they were officially licensed foster parents. “We’ll just take babies. We aren’t ready for older kids,” they told each other.
But a phone call came late one night; there was a six-year-old boy in a desperate situation. Would Paul and Colleen take him in? It would be temporary, until things settled down and family services could find a relative to take him.
Paul and Colleen said yes.
The more Paul learned about young Charlie’s life, the more Paul realized that this time in foster care was a unique opportunity to show Jesus to Charlie in practical ways.
He planned experiences for Charlie that he might never get otherwise. Paul took Charlie to church, where he participated in children’s activities. He and Charlie went on a special “father/son” fishing trip up north and played catch football.
Unplanned experiences cropped up, too. Paul and Colleen soon became aware that Charlie had no concept of what marriage meant. He only thought in terms of temporary boyfriend/girlfriend arrangements.
One evening, Jim, a church leader, came to visit. Charlie warmed up quickly to him asked, “So how many girlfriends do you have?”
Jim exchanged grins with Paul and Colleen, and then explained that he’d “had the same girlfriend for 30 years! And I don’t plan on getting another!”
This was a novel concept for Charlie.
Every night before bed, Paul gave Charlie the “bedtime story” experience. And Bible stories fascinated Charlie, especially the stories of Jesus. Paul even explained the gospel in simple terms.
During one of those bedtime Bible story times, Charlie told Paul he wanted to believe in Jesus and what He had done for him.
Almost a year after welcoming Charlie into their home, Paul got a call from Charlie’s caseworker.
“We have a close relative of Charlie who is ready to take him. I’ll come for him Wednesday.”
Wednesday came, and ended with tearful goodbyes and tight hugs. Paul’s heart was aching. But now he knew how to answer his friend Brian’s question: why volunteer to open yourself up to trouble?
This. This is why. God filled my life with blessing and love—to give it away.
Charlie had arrived a perfect stranger, but he was leaving a beloved son and brother in Christ. And it wasn’t just Charlie that Paul had come know; he was now connected to a world he never would been a part of before caseworkers, lawyers, and troubled parents.
I would have missed this.
It was all worth the chance to love. Nothing had been subtracted, no “piece of his heart” went missing. When he loved with God’s love and followed God’s lead, he had even more to give.
“Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12, NASB).
What blessings do you have in your life? Material, financial, education, family…think of one way you could use that blessing show love to someone. Whatever it costs, investing in people yields eternal dividends.
Caldwell, Blair. “The Need for Foster Families.” TV6. Upper Michigan’s Source.com. June 24, 2016.
https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/The-need-for-foster-families-384329071.html
“Paul Holcroft.” Etsy. Accessed August 9, 2020. https://www.etsy.com/people/Holcroft
This story is based on an interview with Paul Holcroft.
Story read by Blake Mattocks