Patricia had a tough childhood. Put up for adoption at birth, she spent seven years bouncing among foster homes before finally being adopted.
For years, she wondered about her birth mother, and at age 20, she contacted the State of Wisconsin for her birth records. But she never followed up. At that time, she was a single mother with a three-year-old daughter, and had more pressing concerns needing her attention.
But in 2007, her two grown children urged her to resume her search. The birth records she received showed that her mother had three other children at the time of her birth: A nine-year-old living with her father in Nashville, a four-and-a-half-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy.
The records provided no names, but indicated that the younger siblings were deceased. The older one, however, was still alive.
Patricia was hopeful for a reunion with her birth mother and half-sister. She put in a request to meet her mother.
One morning she received a call from the state. Her mother had denied the request. She wasn’t ready yet.
That’s okay, Patricia thought, because God is going to let me know who you are.
Later that day, Patricia was on the phone with her son, Andre, while watching the local news on TV. She overheard a report about Oprah Winfrey’s mother.
She wasn’t paying much attention, until Oprah’s mother opened up about her children. The two youngest children had passed away. One of them, she had named Patricia.
It couldn’t be coincidence, could it?
Patricia’s son looked up the birthdates of Oprah and her siblings online. They matched up exactly with the ones for Patricia’s siblings.
On Oprah Winfrey’s talk show last Friday, Oprah promised her viewers a bombshell: news that “shook her to her core.” After all the surprises her show has provided over the years, no one knew what to expect.
On Monday, Oprah revealed Patricia…the sister she never knew. Patricia had contacted the show, and a DNA test confirmed that Oprah and Patricia are sisters.
What were the chances that Patricia should overhear that news report, on the same day she’d so heartbreakingly learned her birth mother was not ready to see her? If she hadn’t, the two may have never gotten together. Oprah’s mother was ashamed of giving her child up, and never told anyone about it.
Oprah shares the full story on her website.
Patricia’s story isn’t the only one I’ve heard about reunions made thanks to a mysterious moment. The most incredible, in my opinion, was told to us by Larkin Huey, a Vietnam veteran with a tragedy in his past that he never could shake. A tragedy that ultimately led him back to his old post in Thailand, 30 years later: The Love I Left Behind.
Have you lost touch with someone, only to find them again through unexpected and mysterious means? (I’m not talking Facebook here.) Tell us about your reunion below in the comments or send us an email at mw@guideposts.org.
