Charlene Wheatley was a cosmetics salesgirl at Bloomingdale’s in New York. For nine years she had worked at the prescription counter, seeing thousands of faces and handling all sorts of customers from countries across the globe.

One day a tourist appeared at her counter. Since Charlene’s sister-in-law is Japanese, she immediately detected the woman’s Japanese accent, and understood how to put the woman at ease by speaking slowly and politely.

“May I help you?” she said in a soft tone.

“I …would …like…skin…care,” said the timid woman in halting English.

Charlene’s courtesy obviously made a big impression on the woman, for she bought several products and then thanked Charlene repeatedly. “Thank you…thank you…for this time you spend with me.” She paid, bowed once more in gratitude, and left the store.

Charlene was still smiling about the encounter when, out of the blue, the woman appeared again, less than half an hour later. She had decided to stock up on all her items before returning to Japan. “Happy to oblige,” said Charlene. As both of them went about collecting the items, Charlene felt friendly enough with the woman to mention her Japanese sister-in-low. It was rare that Charlene actually shared anything of her personal life with her customers. Her conversations almost always focused on the products.

“I even know a few words of Japanese, like Musashi, which means samurai warrior,” added Charlene. The woman giggled back. It was funny for her to hear such a familiar word spoken by an American.

“As a matter of fact,” continued Charlene, “that’s the name of my nephew.” Then she had an idea! She pulled a picture out of her pocket, showing her beaming, eight-year-old nephew.

“See? Musashi, my nephew,” said Charlene, and she handed the picture to the woman, expecting her to smile. But when the woman’s eyes settled on the picture of the boy, her expression froze in shock.

“What is it?” cried Charlene.

The woman finally seemed to catch her breath, and then spoke. “This boy,” she said, pointing to the picture in her hand, “he my godson!”

In the best words she could muster, she tried to explain to Charlene that the boy’s mother, Charlene’s sister-in-law, had been her best friend back in Japan.

The family had moved years ago to New York and the two had lost contact over the years. In fact, she was now in New York trying desperately to find them.

Within a matter of hours, two best friends, a godmother and a godchild were reunited, miraculously.

Story provided by Charlene Wheatley.

Comment:
Sometimes when you feel abandoned and alone and don’t know where to turn, you can sense that you are being guided by a spiritual power, a power connecting one person to another. Why did the Japanese woman return to the store shortly after visiting it? Could it not be more than a need to purchase more items? Was it mere coincidence that Charlene had the photo of her nephew in her pocket to show the visitor?

This mysterious power that draws and directs us, we call providence: God’s guiding hand in our lives. Charlene and her visitor felt this power draw them together for a miraculous purpose: the re-union of the mysterious visitor with her sister and with her godson. Have you ever had a providential experience like this in your life?

—Fr. Hugh Duffy