A Divine Vine, or Just a Coincidence?

When Don Taylor looked at this vine growing up a utility pole in Littleton, Colorado, he thought it looked familiar. Although not a religious man, Don thought the vine looked a lot like Christ on the cross.

Ever since he posted the photo on Facebook, the vine has become something of a local celebrity, drawing people of faith to marvel at how a simple plant could have taken on such a unique shape—directly across from a church.

Of course, we hear about this sort of thing all the time, everything from Jesus’s face on a piece of toast to the Virgin Mary appearing in a water stain.

Sometimes sights like this can provide more than just a coincidental resemblance (or a skeptical chuckle). I remember two Mysterious Ways stories we published back in the early '80s, one year apart from each other. One was the story of a strange ear of corn in a Maryland farmer’s field—an ear of corn that may have been a message from God. The other story also came from a farmer, this time in Iowa, about an oddly colored rock that may have saved the man and his wife from disaster.

Here at the Guideposts office, we’ve had a few encounters with images and sights we couldn’t quite believe were only coincidence. I put two examples up on a Mysterious Ways Tumblr site to show what I mean. We’d love to add more photos—of the mysterious sights you have witnessed that inspired you.

You can email your photo and a brief story to mw@guideposts.org. We'll showcase some of the best ones on the Mysterious Ways Tumblr and our blog. So keep your eyes open for inspiration!