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By Ariane Williams

My favorite definition of the term “recover” means “to find or regain possession of something that is stolen or lost.”

What is the “that” in your life?

We all get to a point in this life where we feel as if something within us has been stolen or lost when something new begins to “stir” within us. The new is not identifiable, so we tend to try and get back to the “that.”

The stirring feels uncomfortable, uncontrollable and unacceptable. We try so hard to regain what was lost, not realizing that we cannot go back to the possession that once “was” in order to find the “what is.”

What are you trying to recover in your life? Is the recovery process worth the fight? What happens if what you were searching to recover still feels stolen or lost once it is back in your possession? What happens when the possession no longer fits and indeed is truly now “stolen” even if you were the original owner?

My charm bracelet holds a special place in my heart because each charm represents a piece of my life; it represents my journey, my passions and my battles.

One day, I was cleaning the house, and I forgot to remove my bracelet. When I removed my hand from the water, my bracelet “appeared” rusty, dark, gritty and tarnished. My heart skipped a beat because I could not recognize the beauty that was once there. I ran some water over the bracelet, yet the new “dirty appearance” stayed the same.

Feeling as if I could not find a solution, I placed the bracelet in an “I don’t care place,” and I moved forward. When the bracelet was up to my standards, I was careful with placing it in a safe place. Now that the bracelet did not meet my standards, I became careless with the protection.

Don’t be afraid that where you are right now may seem rusty, dark, gritty and tarnished; there is a solution to your recovery.

I decided to research how to clean the bracelet, and was excited when I found out that baking soda and vinegar would restore what I thought was lost. As I placed the bracelet in the mixture, I could see remnants of darkness coming off the bracelet. It was beginning to look like what I knew, but the beauty was still not recovered to its natural state at that point. I began to wear the bracelet again despite its appearance.

Are you willing to wear transparent clothing of truth to share your story with the world? Stop being afraid of your remnants that may be surfacing. God is soaking you to refine you.

I shared my story with my mom when she realized that she had some “special cleaner” that would restore my bracelet. Get this: The “special cleaner” was purchased over seven years ago, so there was no way that it held its potency for that long. When I saw the bottle, it “appeared” bruised with a hole on the side.

My mom shook some out on an old towel, and we began to dip each charm in the substance, scrubbing with a toothbrush, wiping vigorously and buffing on a rag and then soaking in water. I was beginning to see a new beauty that I had never seen before. You see, the baking soda and the vinegar started the process, but the “special cleaner” finished the process.

Sometimes, you have to take that situation and dip it, scrub it, wipe it and buff it and baptize it in the process of recovery.

The new look was so captivating that we decided to clean more things. We cleaned an old vase, rings and an anklet.

God’s love for you will continue to multiply in recovery. You are a recovered charm. If you are looking to be restored back to the original beauty, you are walking in an ugly truth. God wants to polish you to a new level of beauty, passion and courage.

The baking soda and the vinegar will remove the remnants that are trying to destroy you. The “special cleaner,” which is the Word of God, will restore you to the “what is.”