Devotion is Action

MAUREEN HITIPEUW reflects on founding Single Moms Indonesia and learning that devotion isn't an emotion but a daily choice to show up for others.

I never planned for this path. There was no grand vision—just a single, painful moment when I looked for a support group for single mothers in Indonesia, and found nothing. That absence stayed with me. When I eventually met a few other single mothers, I realized that maybe I could create what I once needed.

I started a Facebook group (now Meta). At first, it was just two friends. We had no agenda or roadmap, but only a willingness to act—along with a kind of devotion I didn’t have a name for yet.

That simple action was the beginning. Today, it has grown into a community of over 11,600 women, known as “Single Moms Indonesia.” But back then, it was just a longing to connect, giving birth to a gesture of service.

This journey has asked a lot of me: To show up, listen, and grow consistently. There were no templates for what we were building. I learned on my feet. I fumbled and questioned myself. But every time I felt small or unsure, life would offer a gentle nudge forward, a message that this work mattered and was necessary. I began to understand this as karma—doing what must be done, without clinging to results.

Along the way, I’ve stumbled into spaces that shaped me further. In 2020, I joined a global community leadership program offered by Meta. I didn’t see myself as a “leader,” but the training, mentorship, and support helped me realize that community building was an opportunity to serve.

Of course, action without reflection can lead us astray. So reflection has been essential—a constant teacher. I’ve blogged through grief, processed pain in paragraphs, and shared pieces of my story before feeling ready to do so. Through that act of writing, I began to understand myself and others more meaningfully. I didn’t set out to become wiser, but over time, living through questions such as, “Who am I now?” and “What can I give?” has offered unexpected answers.

To me, devotion is love expressed through commitment and service—a choice we return to daily. I’ve come to believe that devotion is action. It’s showing up, even when it’s hard. It’s answering messages at midnight. It’s holding space, even when you feel empty yourself.

The women in my community have become my greatest teachers. I’ve watched them rise from ashes, whisper their way through darkness, and show up repeatedly for their children and themselves. These women have taught me that healing, forgiveness, and beginning again are the greatest strengths. That sacred love, expressed through motherhood and selfhood, perfectly illustrates that devotion is action.

There was one specific moment when I realized that my purpose was to serve. A recently divorced mother posted in our group. She was on the verge of suicide. The community wrapped around her, holding her virtually. And she lived. Today, she’s thriving and finishing her master’s degree. That, to me, is grace. That is why I keep showing up. 

I recognize that this journey is not mine alone. I call it grace or guidance (call it by any name), but it’s about being faithful to what’s in front of you. To anyone standing at a turning point—lost, grieving, or uncertain—this is what I know: You don’t need to have the whole map. Just take the next small step. That small act itself will guide you, and over time, you’ll find that even your deepest pain might become the soil for something sacred.

“Devotion is action” begins each day with the decision to show up, heart open and hands steady, for whoever needs that space.

To me, devotion is love expressed 
through commitment and service—
a choice we return to daily. 
I’ve come to believe that devotion is action.