Beauty For Ashes
The Woman Behind the Cause
Hi there I’m Magda,
and I imagine a world of beauty instead of ashes.
Freedom for the Human Heart
That is my story.
I didn’t arrive in this world as “the wanted one.” My parents hadn’t planned me — yet somehow, I always sensed Someone else had. Someone who had written my name in His heart before time began. I can’t explain how I knew; I just did. Though I didn’t grow up in a family that went to church, my heart was drawn there from the start. My father, carrying his own wounds, held a deep reverence for God — and that reverence took root in me. As a child, I believed church was where I could meet the One who wanted me. So I went, rain or shine, mostly alone.
But the seeds of legalism and performance began to grow over time. Without unconditional fatherly love, a sense of fatherlessness deepened in me. By my teens, I was still “doing church,” but my heart had grown cold. I thought if I could just do enough — serve enough, pray enough, be good enough — maybe I’d earn what my soul so deeply longed for:
Isaiah 61:1-7
3 To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory.
Turning Point
A serious health challenge plunged me into the darkness of depression. Every day I wrestled with thoughts of ending my life, yet one truth kept me tethered: without Jesus, I would be lost for eternity.
I don’t believe God sent the illness, but I know He met me in that valley. When I came to the end of my own strength, I found Him there — my ever-present Help in time of need.
That was my first taste of real, unearned, unconditional grace.
Preparation Time is Never Wasted Time
Years later, God asked me to do something that made no logical sense — attend three years of Bible college. Still carrying the old patterns of legalism and performance, I thought I could “map out” my own future. And I imagined college was for the benefit of others… but it turned out God was doing a deep work in me. I entered college still entangled in old patterns of performance and control. But over time, grace unravelled them.
For three years, I was immersed in Scripture, truth, and the revelation of who I truly was in Christ. Slowly, my heart started healing. I stopped striving for God’s approval and started living from it.
That season reshaped everything — the way I saw God, myself, and others. My worldview shifted from performance-driven to grace-filled. I began to see that even before I understood grace, God had already been pursuing me — hearing my cries, weaving redemption through my pain, turning every detour into preparation. Looking back, I see how constant His love has been.
The One who always wanted me drew me with cords of love, trading my ashes for His beauty. That is the miracle of relationship with Him — not religion, not rules, but a divine exchange: His wholeness for my brokenness, His joy for my despair, His liberty for my chains. This exchange isn’t earned; it’s received. It’s the gift of grace — the heartbeat of a God who calls each of us by name, who says, “You don’t have to perform to belong. Come as you are.”
Imagine a world of beauty instead of ashes.