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151 pages

English

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Each of us are like a perfectly cut diamond. Before our brilliant light can shine, we must polish clean our innermost wounds and forgive.
Aldous takes pride in his well-formatted ability to remain in control. To achieve such a goal, he securely locks deep within himself all elements from the seven decades of his past that could shake his precisely placed footing. Then a new family moves across the street, and with it, a five-year-old boy named Dakota with an uncanny ability to gnaw under Aldous’s skin. Bit by bit, Aldous’s carefully placed façade peels away, allowing God’s enduring love to push Aldous to face his past and bring him to his knees, asking God’s forgiveness while finding new freedom.
To forgive is to give up on the wish for a different past so that we might embrace the present. The Hidden Diamond is a powerful story of forgiveness.
As a survivor of many forms of abuse, including molestation, I have made it a lifetime mission to break those chains of abuse so that I would not pass that curse onto my children.
The Hidden Diamond developed out of my struggle to heal and find peace. I steadfastly believe God loves us all. God never gives up on anyone, even those whose sins have brought far more harm than good into this world. I formatted Aldous’s character from my effort to forgive and understand what demons had tormented those who had violated my childhood.
Writing has become one of my most important healing tools. In my journey toward wholeness, I have learned that forgiveness is a crucial ingredient. We each have wounds that beg to be mended. Only God’s love provides us the strength so that we may forgive and fully heal.

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Publié par	AuthorHouse
Date de parution	08 novembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665574457
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

THE HIDDEN Diamond
CRYSTAL MM HUNTLEY

AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 833-262-8899

© 2022 Crystal MM Huntley. 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.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/31/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7376-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7446-4 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7445-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022919980

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.

Edited by Eric Rodammer

Cover image by Crystal MM Huntley

Scripture taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

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.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter1
Chapter2
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5
Chapter6
Chapter7
Chapter8
Chapter9
Chapter10
Chapter11
Chapter12
Chapter13
Chapter14
Chapter15
Chapter16
Chapter17
Chapter18
Chapter19
Chapter20
Chapter21
Chapter22
Chapter23
Chapter24
Chapter25
Chapter26
Chapter27
Chapter28
Chapter29
Chapter30
Chapter31
Chapter32
Chapter33
Chapter34
Chapter35
Chapter36
Chapter37
Chapter38
Chapter39
Chapter40
Chapter41
Chapter42
Chapter43
Chapter44
Chapter45
Chapter46
Acknowledgements
Dear Lord and Savior, Your abiding love lifted me from crippling wounds into healing and broke the harrowing chains of abuse. Your unfailing love has no bounds. You carried me through every grievous moment and taught my heart to forgive, transforming my deep scars into tools to reflect Your grace. Through You and You alone, all things are possible—all lives can be made anew. Only with the strength of Jesus Christ did I gain the courage and skills to write this book. I pray it is a blessing to all who read it.
I could not have written this story without the help of the many people my Lord and Savior has graciously placed in my life, including the multiple skilled therapists who spent countless hours guiding me out of dark spaces formed by wounds. I wish to give proper thanks to each one of you. But some, in particular, I desire to thank by name —
To my dearly beloved, Rich, I sincerely thank you. Your loving support and belief in me gave me the courage to take this leap and publish my works. Your selfless, patient, endless hours supported me while I remained engrossed in my computer to work on this project. Without you standing behind me every step of the way, this book would not exist. Through you, God showed me what true love is. And God graciously gave me you to gush all my true love into.
To my beautiful daughter Ella, my heart swells with gratitude. God gave me an angel the day He gave me you. I love you more than words could ever express. I will forever cherish those precious moments we spent brainstorming creative writing ideas. Through your youthful energy, we together fashioned the character of Dakota, which brought a much-needed entertaining lightness into a heavy topic.
I extend heartfelt thanks to my nephew Eric. I cherish the memory of the glint in your eye as you emphatically nodded in agreement to be my editor. Thank you for the many laborious hours you dedicated, between your intensive college studies, to proofread every typed word and punctuation within my manuscript. I am excited to watch you shine in a future career as an editor and fellow writer. I know you have what it takes.
To Trish, the mother-in-law of my eldest son, with warm appreciation, I give thanks. You saw my love of writing and selflessly gave your time and energy to teach me the skills you honed. I treasure those times we bonded a friendship over the written word, never, at the start, realizing our children would make us family.
And to Scott, the source of my first memory of the word “Awesome.” Every time I hear that word, I think of you. Even though no other aspect of this story pertains to you, I injected your contribution each time my character, Dakota, used it. Thank you, dear Scott (1968 – 2021), for being a beloved brother. Rest in peace. I know you will dance the awesomest dance in Heaven.
Dedication
I dedicate The Hidden Diamond to each of you who have had families broken and dreams shattered by the hardened hearts of another’s sins and those whose shining beauty has been buried deep beneath a lifetime of transgressions.
Light always swallows up the darkness. Let God’s light shine into every dark crevice of your life so He can polish it into His brilliance and bring you back to the perfect, radiant diamond He created you to be. I pray that God’s forgiveness restores you with the strength to heal. May my story inspire your own journey toward healing.
Reviews
What a beautifully written story of heartbreak and healing. Through faith, the healing begins within the heart. Crystal has a gift with her words . . . pulling at the heartstrings, she draws us in . . . with complex and moral questions. Sandy Christensen
Scripture Verse
“Hear them from heaven and forgive
And answer all who have made an honest confession;
For you know each heart.”
1 Kings 8:39
Prologue
I know far too well the damage abuse inflicts on the soul. Forgiveness is crucial if one is to find peace once again. It is far easier to forgive a perpetrator who enters into a state of repentance, but sadly, that rarely happens. I wrote The Hidden Diamond with that in mind, giving the twist of a perpetrator who gains the courage to face his dark side and, with remorse, seeks forgiveness.
CHAPTER
1
ALDOUS
“O SCAR, WHAT DID YOU DO with my other slipper?” With the left one gripped in my hand, I searched this mutt’s favorite places to stash things. “It has to be here somewhere.”
Oscar cowered as he weaseled out from behind the couch. I shook the lone slipper in his face. “Where’s the other one?”
He let out a squeaky bark and ran toward the kitchen. I followed behind, watching his short legs skid out from underneath him on the tile floor. His overgrown toenails scraped, sending a chill up my aching spine. The pug darted toward the basement door left ajar, then returned with my coveted item clenched firmly within his teeth.
Disregarding Oscar’s mischief, I patted him on the head. “Good boy.”
I slid my feet into the slippers. The painful balls of my big toes, along with my aching heals, rubbed smooth rawhide, polished to a dark caramel sheen—evidence of the many years of contact between my old, calloused feet and the inside of these slippers.
This very same pair had supported me well for many decades. No matter what obstacles life threw in my direction, I always depended on the sturdy build and excellent handiwork that had been poured into the construction of this footwear. Regardless of how horrible my day had been, this pair of slippers greeted me with warmth and comfort. Funny, that’s more than I could say about most people who have entered my life.
I moved toward the front door. The little mutt bounded after me, his stump of a tail engaged in a perpetual spastic wag. That measly tail looked more like it belonged on the end of a shaved rabbit instead of a dog. Any canine would be insulted by such a scrawny appendage.
From the corner of my eye, I caught my reflection in the mirror Mariam had long ago hung next to the staircase. For some strange reason—I may never understand—I paused and stared into the reflective glass. The two eyes that gazed back, somewhere along the way, had lost their sheen, causing them to appear more like a dull gray instead of the attractive shade of blue Mariam fell in love with.
“Oscar, you stay here. I’ll only be a minute. I’m going out to get the mail.” The screen door slipped from my fingers and slammed shut behind me—an effective barrier between the animal and me.
Oscar whimpered as his nose pressed against the meshed wire.
“Mariam sure did a top-notch job at spoiling that beast,” I mumbled as I shuffled down the steps toward the sidewalk. I drew in a deep breath of crisp autumn air, a refreshing change after the repressive temperatures of the long summer months. I’ve experienced many hot days in my time, but none seemed to melt the flesh from my bones quite as this past summer had.
I planted my feet firmly on the concrete and closed my eyes, allowing the cool, clear air to inflate my lungs. With my flimsy aluminum key in hand, I must have turned my body to the left, for the next thing I knew, my fist brushed up against something.
“Hey, that man scratched me.”
I opened my eyes. A small boy, the size of an elf, stood beside me. His face scrunched up as if about to cry, giving me an instant reminde