Buried Treasure: Healing the heart

By Johni Welch

It seems Darlene is always battling the familiar feeling that tugs at her insides
and reminds her of a lifetime of rejection. Years ago while on vacation, she
put a loaded gun to her head with her finger on the trigger. Although her
husband, Derek, managed to talk her out of taking her life, she will never
forget the look of horror on his face as he begged her to hand him the gun.
Thankfully, her grandchildren have never known her struggles with mental
trauma.
As Darlene and Derek prepare to take their annual vacation with their
grandchildren to an isolated Indiana town that no one knows holds horrible
memories for her, she must once again push her anguish to the back of her
mind. But unbeknownst to her, a journey of another kind is awaiting. As
she begins exploring her troubled past, only time will tell if Darlene can
find the source of her misery so she can survive the vacation and become
whole again.
Buried Treasure is the tale of a grandmother’s experiences after she stumbles into
her tormented past and searches for the key that will release her from the
prison of her buried emotions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9798823027458

Johni Welch

Johni Welch is a homemaker who has been married for thirty-nine years. She is a mother of four sons (his, hers, and theirs) and a grandmother of nine. Johni lives with her husband in Southwest Texas. Buried Treasure is her first novel.

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© 2024 Johni Welch. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Disclaimer: This book is not meant to be used as a diagnosis for any mental trauma, nor to be a book on self-help or replace a psychologist’s help in any way. It is written to only open eyes that refuse to see past hurts for possible answers.

Bottle Caps, Pop Rocks, Lik-M-Aid, and Squirt gum are registered trademarks.

All names are fictionalized in this book.

AuthorHouse™

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Phone: [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise indicated.

ISBN: 979-8-8230-2747-2 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-2746-5 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-2745-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024910618

Published by AuthorHouse 05/25/2024

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Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Daddy Issues

Chapter 2 The Vacation

Chapter 3 Along the Road

Chapter 4 Keep It at Bay

Chapter 5 Bob

Chapter 6 Checking In

Chapter 7 Time Travel

Chapter 8 Illusion of Memory

Chapter 9 Double Take

Chapter 10 Elephant in the Room

Chapter 11 Another Time, Another Place

Chapter 12 The Trust Test

Chapter 13 The Unknown

Chapter 14 Closet Ogres

Chapter 15 Distractions

Chapter 16 Learning to Be Loved

Chapter 17 Fruit

Chapter 18 Tying Together

Chapter 19 Mind Games

Chapter 20 A Mystery

Chapter 21 The Nurse’s Office

Chapter 22 Christmas

Chapter 23 A Love Story

Chapter 24 Heart Burn

Chapter 25 Shattered

Chapter 26 Court Day

Chapter 27 Discovering Life’s Shortfalls

Chapter 28 Deeper Still

Chapter 29 Alive Again

Chapter 30 Detective Work

Chapter 31 In the Clearing

Author’s Afterword

A Word by Brian Simmons

When you journey into the past,

you never know what you might unearth.

In loving memory of my sister Kay,

who did not get a chance to read my book when it was completed

but told me she was proud of me for going there

Preface

Did you have parental love as a child? I did not. Being number six of six girls, I never fit in. It was the norm for us, and I believed I was okay with just looking through the glass at the family and not being a part of it. As I became a teen, I thought I could find acceptance in men but found only more rejection and emptiness.

We seem to have a hole in us that we try to fill with our senses, yet nothing can fill it. Because of our fear of abandonment, we all try to keep it together, hoping we will be admitted into someone’s arms of protection. We want so desperately to be loved and accepted that we don’t see the caution flags of danger ahead. We end up with deeper wounds in our already brokenhearted relationships that humans and drugs could never fill.

And no matter your gender, we all become used-up goods when the father isn’t the leader in the home.

I wrote this book in story form so that readers could ease into the bitter pool of their own life’s memories and look at the deep wounds we all push aside or try to bury six feet deep. This was my journey, and I’m sure yours will be different. But we all share the same story ending; hurt. I found peace and acceptance, but it took four years because of my stubbornness to admit things. There are things I did as an adolescent with no personal guidance, things I have been so ashamed of my whole life. I was promiscuous. I didn’t sleep with the whole football team, but one was one too many.

Little children are supposed to be taken care of, protected, and shown love. My parents fought so much that they didn’t have time to show their houseful of daughters how life could be but only how it was by their view and actions. They were our only role models.

I wasn’t taught the importance of waiting until marriage to have a sexual relationship. I tried to find a hero in men, but it only brought shame and guilt to my soul. I boarded up the pathway to my heart and fought through the sludge of failures that my young life told me I was. As the old song says, I was always looking for love in all the wrong places. I did not find it until I accepted change. A new husband, my new dad, and the truth that is Jesus the Christ together showed me there is real love and guidance for a broken soul. It took a while, but a daily walk with a trusted friend through the old places can change your entire future.

I pray this book helps you understand more about what you have gone through and shows you how to heal your bitter, broken heart. And I pray it will help someone struggling with the main thing I struggled with, rejection.

We have all been hurt in life, and for the most part, it all started in childhood. Go back to where it began and heal from there. It isn’t easy—in fact, it is hard—but to be free, you must face the pain the truth brings.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank the One who changed my stony heart into a colorful gem.

I would also like to thank my wonderful husband Jim, who with patience watched me painstakingly go through a transformation during the writing of this book. He prayed for me when I cried and rejoiced with me when I laughed. I could not have done this without his love and belief in me.

To our sons Mike, MJ, Steven, and Lance, you guys are the best! I am so proud of our sons. Mike is my eldest, an entrepreneur, a hard oil field worker, married and a father of three. MJ is Jim’s son, a hard worker with two sons, and a counselor to others who were where he was. My son Steven, married with two daughters, is a veteran of the United States Army who specialized in artillery. He served two tours to the middle East. Our son Lance is a successful Realtor who fought cancer and won. He and his wife have enjoyed traveling and now have two daughters. I thank them for always encouraging me.

To my BFF Sherry Spraglin, you kept me going in the hard times, the sad times, and the dark times. You encouraged me, pushed me, and even pulled me through tight places I didn’t want to go through. Thank you!

Chapter 1

Daddy Issues

A s she put away the dinner dishes, Darlene gazed out the window, sipping her merlot, considering how loved she was. Afterall, that’s what her name meant; well beloved. She watched the sun hide behind the thin scattered clouds, showing a glimpse of the beautiful backdrop of heaven’s painting. Their new bay windows brought in a breathtaking canvas of the evening sunsets from all three sides, allowing a better view of the new neighborhood they had just settled into. Thinking about the family getaway they were about to embark on, she grew excited. Even though it wasn’t quite fall, it was their two oldest grandkids turn to go on their last vacation with them before they started home school.

The streetlight flickered on and caught her attention. She saw a silhouette across the street. It was dusk, but she could see the outline of a tall being, about six feet tall, facing her direction. She became uneasy, and her heart grew heavy as that familiar feeling tugged at her insides. She would not let it happen again. Her grandkids never knew her struggle with mental trauma, but her wonderful husband had been with her through all of it. She does not want him to see that again.

On a vacation a few years back, she had put a loaded gun to her head with her finger on the trigger. Her husband talked her out of the gun, and coming to her senses, she handed it over and sought help. But she will never forget the look of horror on his face as he stood in front of her, begging her not to do it, and how it felt to realize she could have or would have taken her own life.

Derek had called the authorities to help her, and they advised her to go to counseling sessions. She did, and although she was grateful for them, they lasted only a few weeks. Knowing Derek would try and convince her to keep the appointments, she didn’t tell him for a month. And seeing that person outside her kitchen window tonight generated that uneasy feeling again.

As the streetlight flickered, it took her back to the sickly florescent light over a figure lying on a high table draped in white. A person in a clergy coat softly suggested, Whenever you are ready. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and realized she was about to identify someone she had not seen in years.

The clergy pulled back the sheet, and upon seeing the discolored, lifeless body, she agreed to what they suspected: it was indeed her father.

The casket matched his temperament: a strong bronze color on the outside, and cold white on the inside. His heart gave out, and now this big man who had the title of Daddy was no longer with her.

Darlene saw him as nothing more than an abuser and a destroyer of tender hearts. He toyed with his children’s emotions as if his purpose was to break their spirit, and for most of his kids, he succeeded. He had the need to leave scars so they would remember why he was beating his little girls: to be submissive. Did he never see how much damage he did to his kids by his long, hard spankings and cruel games he played? Did he ever care?

She told herself that she needed to stop all this sad thinking. It wasn’t helping her. She had a new life she was proud of. An awesome husband of thirty-eight years, four wonderful sons who loved and respected their dad and mom, nine grandchildren who get excited for her to play with