Love in Action:
- Andrea S.
- May 15
- 3 min read
Where Fear Meets Compassion and Hope Begins
Sarah walked into The Refuge Center with a heart full of fear. Her mind raced. She already knew the weight of motherhood—her 4-year-old son was her world. But a second child? Now? After the pain of her divorce? After finally finding some stability in Georgia? She wasn’t ready. As she sat in a calm, peaceful counseling room, she bowed her head and whispered a desperate prayer:
“Please Lord, I can’t be pregnant... I can’t have this baby.”
In another room, Beth and Ricardo sat side by side, hands clasped but spirits trembling. Beth feared rejection—if her parents found out she was pregnant, she knew they would turn their backs on her. Ricardo, on the other hand, feared inadequacy. He had always longed to be a father, but growing up without one left him feeling unprepared, unqualified, and overwhelmed by doubt. As he stared at the floor, questions spiraled in his mind:
"How can I provide? What if I fail? What if I’m not enough?”
These are not rare stories. These are not outliers. These are the very real cries we hear every single day from women and men who walk through the doors of The Refuge Center. They come with fear in their eyes, shame in their hearts, and burdens too heavy to carry alone.
But here, they find something they never expected: love.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... And love your neighbor as yourself.”— Matthew 22:37–39
This command is not just a verse we recite—it is the heartbeat of Refuge. We love these neighbors of ours not with judgment, but with open arms. We listen. We encourage. We pray. And most of all—we walk with them. Because love, as Christ showed us, is action. It is sacrifice. It is compassion when someone is at their lowest and most vulnerable.
Sarah came back.
She returned for her ultrasound appointment already leaning toward abortion. The man she had been dating offered no support. “It’s your choice,” he said—detached and uninvolved.
But as Sarah lay on that table and turned her eyes to the screen, everything changed. In that quiet room, she saw the tiny flicker of a heartbeat—a baby’s heartbeat. A life. Her child. In that moment, her fear gave way to fierce love. She chose life.
Beth and Ricardo got their answer.
When the client advocate gently confirmed the pregnancy, silence filled the room. Ricardo doubled over, hands on his face, weeping.
“I always wanted to be a dad… I just don’t know how.”
The advocate didn’t flinch. She loved him and Beth as Christ calls us to love. She told them about Refuge’s free ultrasounds, parenting classes, and help with obtaining pregnancy Medicaid. She answered their questions without rush. She prayed with them before they left.
And when they walked out—still hand in hand—the fear was gone. In its place? Joy. Peace. Hope.
These stories aren’t just beautiful. They’re sacred. And they are only possible because of God’s grace and the generosity of people like you.
Every ultrasound, every answered question, every hopeful smile is the fruit of loving our neighbor—just as Christ commanded.
You make this ministry possible.
With your support, we will continue to be a refuge for the Sarahs, Beths, and Ricardos of this world—offering them not just services, but the love of Christ made visible.
Please consider partnering with us today. Because the greatest commandment begins with loving Him—and the second calls us to love them. Let’s be love in action—together.
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