wow winter 2016

SS: Jeremiah 29:11-14 - For I know the
plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future. Then
you will call on me and come and pray to
me, and I will listen to you. You will seek
me and find me when you seek me with all
your heart. I will be found by you,” declares
the LORD, “and will bring you back from
captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the
nations and places where I have banished
you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring
you back to the place from which I carried
you into exile.”
CAP: What biblical character would you
say most mirrors your life and why?
SS: I would be Job – Have you considered
my servant Job? I was faced with the
greatest challenge and test of my life. I
thought I had experienced the worst of it in
2003 but 7 years later, evil would show that
it was always lurking beneath the surface
and in 2010 I lost custody of children after
being falsely accused of everything that I
did as an advocate. My daughter who had
been the direct victim of the child predator
in 2003 manipulated her younger siblings
out of anger, frustration and pain to lie
about being abused. I was arrested in 2011
spent 89 days in the Jefferson County Jail in
Birmingham AL in solitary confinement.
I broke out in painful boils all over my
body and I quickly learned the difference
between my friends and just the people that
I knew. I learned that in times of trouble
your family and friends will leave you and
forsake you, but God never will.
I never stopped fighting for my children
and on September 18, 2003 I won custody
back of three youngest, who were now not
so young and who had been physically,
emotionally and psychologically abused,
harmed and forever changed. My oldest
aged out of the system, got married and
became a mom this year herself. She did
call the day before her 19th birthday and
apologize to me for not telling the truth
and for all of the pain. I forgave her and
we are taking it day by day. I will always
love and be her mom. Unfortunately my
youngest son suffered and is not the child
that they removed unnecessarily and he’s
definitely not the child that they returned.
We spent more than a year on a downward
spiral of behaviors that were dangerous for
him, myself and his siblings, so in 2015 my
youngest son was placed back into DHR’s
custody, and sent to a behavioral health
facility. I speak with him weekly and I pray
daily that he will someday find his way back
to who he was meant to be.
People will believe a lie before they
will the truth and especially when you are
innocent, but if you have faith, a faith that
surpasses all understanding including your
own and if God has a purpose for your life,
he is not a man that he should lie and his
purpose shall always be fulfilled, and he will
restore just as promised. I was stirring in
the consuming fire, being refined for such
a time as this. We have survived the test,
we are slowly being restored, but we are
forever changed and in 2016 we will share
our testimony even greater.
CAP: How do you relax and regroup from
such a strenuous career?
SS: I spend it with my children, laughing,
loving and just being together, we really like
to just stay at home, watch movies, eat our
favorite foods and do absolutely nothing,
that time together means so much for us
because we lost so much. I spend it with
my amazing friends who are genuine, kind,
loving supportive and believe in us, and
who I know that if something happens to
me will be there for my children. More
importantly, I relax and regroup in the
Word and Presence of God, consuming
His messages about what it truly means to
serve all of His children and listening for
the whisper that is only for me.
CAP: CP: I always like to ask this question
of those I get a chance to interview, How
would you like to be remembered?
SS: I would like to be remember as a
Servant and Voice for the Voiceless. For
the deeds that I have done which made a
positive difference in the life of those who
needed it the most and for the words that
spoke that raised the consciousness of
humanity for the injustices experienced by
far too many.
CAP: What’s next for SS?
SS: Well “my” plans are to finally write and
publish some of the books that are deep
inside of me that having been craving to
be free, so I will be writing and releasing
more in 2016. I am also looking to explore
and pursue more national and international
opportunities that will allow me to share
personal experience and professional
expertise about human trafficking, social
justice, human and civil rights issues. In
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WOW! MAGAZINE | WINTER 2016 | 43