A Life Changed
A letter from Kathy, a former Agape client
At eighteen years old, I hid in the bathroom, hoping no one would find me. The results finally appeared: I was pregnant.
In my mind, pregnancy was not an option. Another friend of mine was also pregnant at the time, so I called her and asked if we could go together to get an abortion (yes, I tried to turn an abortion appointment into a social outing). We called the clinic and made an appointment.
I was beginning to spiral deep into denial and hope that maybe the test had been wrong. Not wanting to splurge on another one, I wracked my brain for ideas. I remembered a friend from high school who had received free services from a place called Agape.
So off to Agape I went. They would give me the confirmation I needed to carry on with my plans of abortion. What I received that day was not at all what I intended and far beyond what I deserved. I was greeted by a woman who responded to my situation with compassionate, non-judgmental love. I think she saw more in me than I cared to see in myself. Most of our conversation that day eludes me now, after twenty years, but I do know she urged me to take some time to think things through. Then, she did something that will always stick with me: she offered to pray for me. My mind was clouded with emotions, and I vaguely remember the words she prayed. The idea that someone saw my life and situation worthy of such a prayer… well, it meant something to me.
The people at Agape got in my corner. They helped equip me with the tools I needed to become a mom. I was soon taking parenting classes with my daughter’s father, and we were better off because of it. God showed me a new path through the people at Agape.
I have learned so much from my daughter, and I still do today. There have been many hardships – I can’t deny that, but it was then that I was able to grow and change for the better. Matt 7:13-14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it.” To tell my daughter about the girl who almost took the wide and broad road is a story that is hard for me to admit. But it’s not just my story, it’s her story too. It saddens me that there are many girls today that choose to take the wide and broad road. Oh, how I wish I could spare them from pain they will likely endure! Perhaps our story is meant to reach into the heart of another young girl who might be reading this and doesn’t know what road to take. Take the one that leads to life! It may seem narrow, scary, and hard, but you don’t have to go alone.
Today I praise God that He led me to Agape so many years ago.
We saw our precious daughter off to college this year, and I simply cannot imagine life without her! We are so proud of the young woman she is becoming. We continue to pray that more lives are saved through ministries like Agape. After all, this ministry is what saved my daughter’s life.
EN 
ES