BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

B V O V : 1 5 by Melanie Hemry He'd been raised in a Christian home. Given his life to Jesus in grade school. Attended a great church and Christian schools. Climbing into the car with an older friend from church, Dean cracked jokes. There was nothing unusual about the day, or the situation. No warning bells alarmed when he went into his friend's house. There was no hint of what was to come. At 4:30 that afternoon, Dean was sexually abused. The experience was…unimaginable. Back home, Dean smothered his pain and rage. Looking in the mirror, he didn't see the confi dent person who'd looked back at him that morning. The boy looking back was bruised, broken and ashamed. Staring in the mirror, he hardened himself. He would never tell a living soul. Prove It "My life looked great from the outside," Dean remembers. "I had previously played quarterback on my football team. I played golf and taught tennis. "Inside, I simmered with anger. "My junior year, I failed PE. I refused to change clothes in the locker room. I was spiraling out of control, always looking for validation. In response, I dove into work. I went to work for the Republican Party. My plan was that at age 21 I would run for the state Legislature and win. At 25, I would run for Congress and win. At age 30, I would win a seat in the U.S. Senate. By 36, I would be the governor of Tennessee. "I still went to church. Still had Christian friends. Still dated Christian girls. By 21, I was working for a company developing shopping centers on the Eastern Seaboard. One day, in the most disrespectful way possible, I spoke to God: 'God, You allowed a Christian to abuse me. If You're real, and at this point I don't think You are, prove it.'" Two weeks later, as usual, Dean had eaten lunch alone. He lived a very public life in a very lonely way. Although he was friendly, he never let anyone get close to him. Trust No One He'd learned that lesson early. Trust no one. Back at his oš ce, Dean sat at his desk. Behind him someone spoke. An audible voice said, "Call Mom." Dean swung around to see who was in his oš ce. No one. He dialed his parents' home. His mother answered on the seventh ring. Her voice was slurred. She was disoriented. Pulling up in front of the house, everything looked fi ne. It appeared as it always had, safe and secure. Inside, he found his mother barely alive. She'd attempted suicide. "Mom, hang on," Dean urged. "You're not going to die, but you've got to choose to live." At the ER, the sta› almost knocked Dean over in their haste to get to his mother. Upon arriving, his dad met Dean in the waiting room. What had happened to his family? God's plan for my life was simple. I was to tell high school students three things: that God loves them; that God has a plan for their lives; and that because they're breathing, they matter." "

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