With tears streaming down my face I
held her tight as she cried. I
didn’t know her story, the exact thing that grieved her, but I could imagine
the suffering that she has endured, the pain, the abuse, the hopelessness. God was moving in her heart and maybe
for the first time she heard about a God who did not judge her, but one of
unconditional love, who wanted to know her personally. I looked around the room to see girl
after girl crying, impacted by the testimonies they had heard, the message that
there is a God who’s heart breaks at the injustice done to them, who has great
plans for their lives, a God who wants to give them BEAUTY FOR ASHES.
Isaiah 61 is often the
quintessential missions verse, setting the captives free, bringing justice to
the oppressed, and release the prisoners from darkness. “To comfort those who mourn, and
provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.” But what does that look like to live it out,
to see this verse in action? In
biblical times, when someone was mourning, they would put ashes on their
forehead, often looking like a crown.
It was a symbol of the sadness and grief that they were
experiencing. When God wants to
bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, He wants to change your whole
countenance. I’m not talking about
an outward beauty, but the kind of beauty that radiates from inside your soul
and bursts out because of the joy and peace that dwells with in you. He wants to take you from the darkest,
most grief stricken places in your life and bring you beauty and joy that is
overflowing and abundant. That was
exactly what we, Team Radiance, set out to do.
We created an event for the women
of the night in Baguio City called “Beauty for Ashes.” We wanted them to feel loved, cherish,
and celebrated. We wanted them to
experience a God who loved them exactly as they are, but just wanted to enter
into their lives and their hearts.
We wanted a day where they could share their “ashes” and things they
were grieving about. We wanted
them to experience a God who wants to give them the desires of their heart, a
God who wants them to dream. We
wanted theses amazing women to know that they matter, that they are
significant, and they are cared for.
They experienced a day of pampering and celebration. We had beauty stations for make up and
nails. We made bracelets and each
girl got to have a personal photo shoot.
They picked out jewelry, hats, signs, sunglasses, and scarves they could
be photographed with. The signs
they chose said words like beautiful, lovely, redeemed, and I am loved as
declarations over their lives and hearts.
I have never seen so many smiles and such laughter. We relaxed and had what the Filipinos
call chica-chica time! We wanted
them to feel loved and cherished, even for just a few hours.
It was also designed to be a time
to share our hearts, our stories, and our testimonies. I started first; sharing the life that
I lived before I knew the Lord, the things I have experienced, the areas of brokenness
that God has healed. Follow this
time, Angie, a former entertainer and club manager, gave her testimony. The details of her story are not mine
to share, but there was not a dry eye in the room after hearing what God has
done in Angie’s life and heart.
The freedom that she walks in today is astounding and powerful. We encouraged the girls to write down or
share their stories, we cried with them, and we prayed for them as they began
to break before us. God was
present and He was moving among them.
So much of the ministry time was in Tagalog, but I can assure you that the
women felt love and felt the presence of the Lord that day. I can only pray that the seeds planted
will be nourished and will grow. I
pray that because of our time together they know that God is the God of
unconditional love. I pray that it
will open doors for the Lord to minister to the women in the future. Most of all I pray that they will let
God into their hearts so He can bestow on them Beauty for Ashes.
Below is a video that my teammate
Ellen and I created of pictures from that day. I hope you see the radiant joy, potential, and inner beauty
that bursts out of these amazing women.
They are young women, just like me, who have a life full of opportunity
and potential before them. “They
will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of
His splendor.” Isaiah 61:3
