Overcoming The Odds: Lt. Gov Winsome Sears

There sometimes. I'm getting ready to deliver a speech and I'm starting to get nervous and alert you know what more you sent me and have to speak to you and as long as I speak the truth, then I'll be all right, that Lieut. Gov. with some Sears from Virginia assuring about how God guides her every day is done so throughout her life as you hear on today's focus on for your hostess focus president and author Jim Daly and I'm John felt John had a great visit with the lieutenant governor of the state offices in Virginia and when some Sears came into office/ball in historic election in effect, she is the first female Lieut. Gov. in the state.

In the first black female elected to statewide office. She is quite an impressive woman with a really interesting story, but the most important thing in her life is her faith in Christ and it comes out that every time she gets a chance to talk and you'll hear that, as we discussed these things with her today. I think the listeners are really going to enjoy this.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to hearing the conversation Jim along with her listeners and viewers Jim Daly with Lieut. Gov. when some Sears on Focus on the Family Lieut. Gov. welcome to Focus on the Family, thank you for having me on. You never picture yourself talking with you because I remember listening to Dr. Dobson and the folks in the studio and just listening to the people your guests would just do something in me and it was always such a blessing. And now here I am doing that I so appreciate that.

That's the goal for us nurturing people stories their lives in. It touches people's hearts today were on your turf were here in Richmond, Virginia, and you have an amazing story. I'm so looking forward to spending a half-hour with you really unfolding that let let's start there. You were born in Jamaica yesterday morning. Kingston Jamaica in the capital and your mom and dad said hey were going go to the US describe that adventurer probably felt like an adventure. How old were you when that decision was made and how old were you when you got here to the US. Actually, my Jamaica had gained independence and 60 to 1962 from England, but then my father decided to come. August 11, 1963 permanently. His first shot and you know you ask him which I did.

Would you come then because he came just 17 days before Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I have a dream speech was the height of the civil rights movement, and I said to him, it was a bad time for us and why would you ask to enter the country and go through the documentation to prove you are who you say you are in the background checks and all that and you have to wait and he said because this is where the jobs and the opportunities interesting if I know the story right.

Correct me if I'm wrong. I think he came with dollars 75 in his pocket. Actually couldn't remember if it was a dollar $50.75 Cottingham Accord economy that is courageous. Well, you know, when you're desperate and you want to find an opportunity you will do what it takes because he could not go home.

A failure and he fingered America for America for him was the promised land. Interesting is that is and you know, of course, his daughter grows up to become Lieut. Gov., the Magenta say it say it this way in the capital of the former Confederacy. Yes, that's progress. That's absolute progress and so that's why when I was on the campaign trail I sent to people listen. If we don't acknowledge that God has brought us a mighty long way might just take his hand off of us. And what do you do then you said you know I really appreciate that. Let me come back to the story because it's so compelling I love it you had a grandmother who loved you and was a believer. Yes and she poured into your life. There are so many stories like that grandmothers take care of the family. The time you give me her salvage is that she was a short woman, probably 51, but she seems sold to me and Mrs. Earl.

She wasn't a force to be reckoned with and she was very political. But she had a kindness about her that we as grandkids you know we were very jealous because we were thinking helps to have grand mothers and fathers down then why did she have to help everybody in when she came to America she would buy shoes and clothes and bring them back for the kids and and I saw her one time this man was high on marijuana in Jamaica just his eyes are bloodshot. I mean, hi out of his mind and he had been that way for a long time and she saw him in rotting home with us in gave him a place to stay clean them up fundament job and got him into adult learning.

Yeah so that he could be literate and what a great story. Her death really impacted you. How will you are you when she does I was 18. I had just turned 18 and I was living in America. She was living in America but she had gone back home for maybe 10 years prior and when I saw her June of that year yell when I saw her June of that year.

The large I saw her march and she was fine but she said to me you're not gonna see me alive anymore.

Don't say that there's nothing wrong with you, and she said no I don't think you will well in the meantime I came back to America because I was just visiting and Jamaica connect America went to my college got my curriculum ready my books ready everything to start. That August, but she died that July, but I will looked at her in the casket. My thought is the purpose of living is just to die than all the love she'd ever loved was the point of it and I just went into a deep spiral and I said to my mother. Well, I'm just going to stay in Jamaica and die and I meant it and my mother said to me you just gonna stay here and I have got rules you gotta come in by certain I gotta do this by certain time you get it and I said to myself, well I'm going back to America because nobody tells me what to do in America and I'm 18 you know and then I happen to look on her table, coffee table and she had an jet magazine and I opened it up and it fell to a page and there whether the Marines the few, the proud Marines. I sent that's it. I need some discipline and she and and they will give me the discipline I need a reason to live. So came back to America join record wow that was a big decision for you a better chance where we have spiritually been heard. Death make the kind of spiritual impact on newer word of God to say, hey Winsome, remember me well as you know I I was saved when I was 12 right and I remember that day so clearly it was a visiting Sunday school teacher in Jamaica who did that for me because he talked about Jesus and we had never heard before. You know, church pretty much my whole life and this visiting minister, I suddenly hear the gospel for the first time and what happens I say to him after everybody is dismissed.

I I ask him tell me more about this man, because I just want to know why would somebody die for someone they don't know.

I wouldn't die for anybody in and what kind of love makes you do that so I accepted him I had to be loved like that and then my family really live that way and in ice.

We see our grandmother kneeling by the bed with the sheet over her head like a tent but nobody really live that way and so you know it didn't last very long.

There is a part of me that always do certain things or writings or things were wrong and I did the wrong things. Anyway her death didn't help it to reminder where the Scripture says any person that's given to him, but he has in his hand, lose the child neglect from how he kept only as of now, I can tell you I could feel him hounding me but I wasn't ready yet. You know, maybe if I had been discipled, then maybe I'm sure, but I was a disciple. Actually, until I had three children.

I was what 25 and it was the Lord who one day my youngest daughter. She was one year old at the time and it was Sunday. She was standing at the door of the of the storm and the storm door and I saw the sun just shining right through work and this like a voice said to me she's going to grow up not knowing me and she's going to blame you and I said to my soul know she's not and I found a church I lickety-split I was looking for church here church there and then I finally found a church and I was discipled. What a great story now moving toward politics. Yes. So what age were you.

You said your grandmother was involved and how to ask her when did you have an interest in Jamaica is very heavily into politics.

I don't know why assist how we are in the do you know that that Prime Minister destroyed Jamaica's economy took about a whole generation. 40 years for it to come back and they voted him back and but only after he apologized for destroying Jamaica for you to think about things going on today and now you're the Lt. Gov. You you know it's important for people who can be to be active and to pursue. I think holy things in the arena of this communism stuff this socialism stuff doesn't work yet, so are we continuing to write don't know that you know I'd be gone right. It's like were the last ones on earth to try to try and that's not actually we did try retrying it back in the early 1600s, when we first came remember and that the concept that some people work harder than salmon and everybody reaps the benefits is not fair when someone of the things I've noticed in your leadership in your life experience and I identify with this difficulty has a way shaping you and I think oftentimes in a good way. It gives you character, Paul says, suffering leads to, you know, eventually you're insane. He is in character and in that context. Your daughter had a tragic accident. New washer daughter. I'd rather not go through the soul right experiences, but apparently the Lord knows best how to describe the circumstances of the how old was she when she passed she was and I tried. It's not that I'm even trying not to remember it's I think the Lord is giving me a certain amount of grace, so that I don't recall too much but dumb she is about 2526 when she died, and the Lord made sure to say to me she she didn't die know because I would say when she passed away and passed away to where when she left, left, where he would say to me finish the sentence so she was bipolar and and she stopped taking her medication and the funny thing is, though, that about a month before they left for heaven Nutri-Grain going to granddaughters yada faith was the youngest granddaughter she was five and she would say, working to get a big house. Jesus is going to give us a big house and I kept wondering what is this big house. And finally, my daughter Dr. drop them off one night for Bible study and faith was praying and she said thank you Jesus for the big house, and when I heard that I said okay.

They are moving and Dijon. My daughter hasn't told us where she's going and and faith is drawing the big houses and I said to my daughter when she came the next day you guys moving to face as you're going to have a big house and she said what she's talking about.

She says Jesus going to give you all a big house.

Well I know now that my granddaughter five years old. She didn't know the word mansion. She meant mansion, but instead she kept saying big house and the day before they left.

She had asked the question of me. She was sitting on my right leg. My hip and she said I don't know to this day what the question was because I just remember after she asked the question a voice filled the room and said what are you going to do if she dies, and so I just studied her face. I studied the knows the curvature of her eyes to study her because what the voice said, and the next day the next day they were gone on home. All three of them in an auto accident and an auto accident because when some that's you know that's not something we just pass by credible experience over the Lord knew that it would've devastated me that he and I have this wonderful relationship where he talks to me about so many things, but this he kept from me and you know three months after their funeral. By the way I was collapsing everywhere just, you know. Yet the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh and I remembered all that but I'm human and if Jesus can cry. Then I can cry to override again II just connect with the difficulty in the you learn so much. I know so many people. I'm sure you do true that they don't have deep suffering and sometimes in those people see that they're very superficial or they walk away, walk away from the Lord and that almost happened to me because I remember you know just grieving so hard yes I know the owner or it in my granddaughters and it's not as if they had cancer you know where I had time to say goodbye.

It was just a knock on the door that your daughter is dead. Your granddaughter is dead and your other daughter granddaughters on life support, but because he had spoken to me in and he kept speaking to me, actually. Throughout that time.

For example, that night when we went home after we talk the other granddaughter off life support and you know maybe we had two hours of shut eye and I awakened the next morning and I thought well, what am I going to do what I do now. I wasn't talking to the Lord, but he said to me, get up, get dressed and focus on the children. You have remaining and he just kept going and then finally he said, what do you have here on earth that's better than heaven.

And then he repeated it again. What do you have here on earth that's better than heaven and he was gone. So true. It's hard though it's hard to process all about how amazing the Lord gave you that crystal crystal clear very clear Kaman before better than the surface a great reminder for all of us to think about and see if the Lord is wrong in taking my children then where do I go after that for the driest or he's wrong right in his timing. Since time is what really strikes because I lost a friend will yesterday. Also, even were talking about is resonating with me. I hate to make the shift. But our time is, limited, and I want to talk about your role in politics and where your what you see. I think the first time we met.

I walk through the door right there. We met in this room and you said hi. I'm a white supremacist white but talk to that issue of bigotry that occurs for you because you're a black conservative woman.

I like to Sam a black Christian woman better or a crime, and Christians alike will black and a woman that the thing about all of that is there certain people who derive their power from keeping us at each other's throats and because I destroy that narrative that black people are victims and they can't be. Then they come after me, because they must because if they don't then it means that I'm helping to foster independence and other black people, immigrants woman will look at me and say well if Winston can do it I can do it to and in fact that's what's happening and so on. Threatening their power but it's not me they're fighting. It's the Lord because I'd I never wanted to be Lieut. Gov. This was the Lord's idea that this is really critical because so often are passions kind of spill over. We as Christians can come only in indoor flush and fight this battle with worldly tools you unconsciously battling that myself. You know, being able to exhibit the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, goodness and mercy are not effective worldly tools but God uses those tools to change your heart. He does there sometimes. I'm getting ready to deliver a speech and I'm starting to get nervous and Lord, you know what Lord you sent me and I just have to speak to you and as long as I speak the truth, then I'll be all right. I just view my life differently I and it's been a long way for me to come that finally I understand that everything that I do. It's going to burn up except the good and that has to be the good that God wants you not hate to get to heaven, and it turns out that I did something good, but there was something better. You know that he wanted and is like as as Moses said, Lord, if you're not going. Don't send me and that's what Lord if if if what I say in my speech if you don't hear. If you're not listening that I have wasted my time. If you are not. If you don't approve of what I'm about to say I have wasted my time. It just doesn't matter what an amazing place to start to think put that in your file before you speak would be a far better nation of everybody around her vocation. Out of that I'm not always good about that. I've got some singers that I and and you know I've got some really good things and in the Lord says to me, and what will you do after that.

And after you say that then what they want with me ask you specifically with Virginia because there was a wave here. People were really upset about schools what schools were teaching that was something that the national media picked up on and Gov. Glenn Young Kim came in under the US Lieut. Gov. Kaman and I believe even the district attorney, the Atty. Gen., yes, we were all of the same run separately. The governor doesn't yell his running mate and neither so we all were singing from the same hymnal is a mailing so when you look at that and you look at the theme that education played in what was happening there and why did it catch fire in Loudoun County and across the state. Well, I'm the former vice president of the State Board of Education here in Virginia and I know where to look for the scores and so it has gone downhill, even since I was in in that position and the problem is our children aren't learning and coals. It really allowed parents to see that because now they are with the children are sitting before televisions will not help you. Sometimes a television screen or the computer screen and they're seeing the curriculum you know that those schoolwork come up and they are realizing that doesn't make any sense and why they teaching them this about this kind of race and that kind of race you know there's a way to teach about history in terms of not demoralizing the children, but this is not the way that they were teaching it.

Everything is about racism and if everything is racism, then nothing is race and you cheapened those true times when people are genuinely hurt by racism and you know we have a saying in in in church and its I may not be what I'm supposed to be, but I ain't what I used to be and that's America in fits and starts. She's getting there. She may not be what she supposed to be, but she certainly ain't what she used to be.

Otherwise you couldn't be here right in your you know your election was historic as the first African-American woman. Well, the first woman.

To be like to left another one. They annexed beautiful okay so you made history well that's one-day now you have a whatever. And yeah, the Lord is saying. So what now you have to cover and and how you going to govern.

Are you going to be righteous or you can join everybody else know let let's touch on that for moment because you know with the Supreme Court on the issue of life. The dogs case again disproportionately impacted group is African-American children reside a much higher rate through abortion and yet it's almost like Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger has achieved her vision yeah were already babies to be yes.

And yet we sit back and we don't even recognize that speak to that issue of life and death through abortion and what the country's battle is all about. Yeah, you know, unfortunately, black mothers are boarding their babies and unheard of numbers you know what, 50, 60% when we are only what 13% of the population. It's just the KKK could not have been more pleased and just drink it heavy statement to bring it home if I were to say I'm going to try to make it law that only black women could have abortions.

Only black women. Certainly we would say to ourselves, wait a minute. That means only black babies are going to die. Why don't they want black babies to be born. You see, so we can see that there is a wickedness about that and unfortunately were not listening and were allowing that to happen and I I don't know. I can't explain it except we do have to pray that the Lord removes the veil from there I and they and he has, but people are deliberately making the decision and they're very proud of making the decision to abort their children.

We have to make a decision even life is life, or it's not.

I mean, what is the what is the mother having is that a lizard, of course not. That's Navy and this thing struck me where the Lord really brought this passage home to me. Psalm 139 were David says you saw my unformed body and I thought we minute unformed unformed David know that there was not a little tiny baby lawyer with that would eventually grow and grow and grow to the size that it was and he know that it was. There was nothing there. You know, and it was because of course the Lord told him because we didn't know that until the electron microscope showed us what that looked like and then he said in that same chapter that you knit me together in my mother's womb, and when you look at the site a blast as its dividing as the cells are dividing. That's what it looks like they're needing to get respect and you couldn't know that again hello you had this powerful microscope. Well this is been terrific about the people hearing go wild when she running for Prez met although I wasn't born look like you're doing a great job again.

I just love the discussion of how to blend no being active in the political sphere with your Christian commitment and you've done it so well and will be asking people to pray for you to sign the Lord use you Christians all over and politics needed because it's a very sometimes lonely road and the other side, they don't quit and we can quit either because we know that we are on the side of right and we are going to be held accountable and thankfully we have a God of love who helps us focus on the family were used to listen think will be great to have the cassettes given away governor with some Sears focus on family recent conversation recorded in Virginia fun and energy.

Imagine what she brings the energy. John then it was a very good visit.

I so appreciate her love for focus and her strong convictions to do what's right would be great if more people in government at that as a goal. What to do what's right. I also appreciated her eternal perspective, reminding us that life here is short but we need to remember that were going to something right for those who know the Lord.

We have so much to look forward to and have an end with Christ for eternity is amazing. You know we finished the discussion by talking about pro-life issues and I want to give you an opportunity to do something really great on behalf of pre-born babies through option ultrasound and the program provides ultrasound machines and training for pregnancy centers and allows for women to see a high-definition image of their child in the womb. 56% of abortion minded women decide to keep their baby after seeing their sonogram and receiving counseling so your gift of $60 today will save the baby's life. So I encourage you to call us and donate now.

Now is the time to seize this very pro-life moment in our culture call in building number is 800 K in the word family or stop by the show notes and you find the links right on behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team.

Thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family I'm John Fuller inviting you back once more help you and your family thrive in Christ. In light of the Supreme Court's recent decision on abortion are you ready for what comes next and how should we respond as emotions run high as Christians we need to be ready. Focus on the Family can help you prepare. Join us every Monday to hear inspiring stories from people who their own pro-life moment and experience God's love to learn more, go to focusonthefamily.com/seizure moment that's focusonthefamily.com/seizure moment