Love in Action

A young single mother of three sat across from me in our counseling room.

Her shoulders dropped under the weight of a positive pregnancy test.

Tears began to fall. Despair settled in.

When I gently asked what she was considering, she whispered, “abortion.”

I asked her what felt most pressing in that moment.

She said softly, “I don’t want to have an abortion. I just don’t know what else to do. I’m about to lose my housing, and I don’t know how I can get everything I’ll need for a new baby. The father… he wants nothing to do with us.”

At Agape, this is where we step in.

Where most might hand over a number for her to call, we call with her.

We cry with her. We help shoulder the burden.

When I shared about our weekly parenting classes, our baby boutique, and that if she secured housing we could cover the deposit and first month’s rent, she straightened up in her chair and asked, “Are you serious? You can help like that?”

She then went across the hall for an ultrasound.

And this time—there were no tears of grief, only tears of joy.

As she saw her baby, she said through her smile,

“I wasn’t planning on being here, but I’m going to do this. I’m a mother of four.”

Several weeks later, she found housing.

Agape paid her deposit and first month’s rent—because this is what pro-abundant life looks like.

Today, she has a steady job and is rebuilding her life after escaping an abusive relationship.

Agape means unconditional love.

It’s not just what we say—it’s what we do.

It’s love in action.

Written by Executive Director of Agape Women’s Center- AnnMarie Gustke