I knew it wasn’t him….

The first time I heard of an incident like this, I believe it was in 1994. It was then that a woman made a grilled cheese sandwich and saw the face of the Mother Mary. That same grilled cheese was auctioned off in 2004 for $28,000.

In another incident during the 1970s, a woman in France claimed she had multiple visits from Jesus. During these visits, she was given messages about His coming return.

In another very public portrayal of someone meeting with Jesus, the movie Heaven Is for Real recounts the encounter that 4-year-old Colton Burpo had after nearly dying from a ruptured appendix. Side note—I love this movie and the acting in it. It is wonderfully portrayed and makes me cry every time.

There are a bunch of different incidents like this that I was aware of growing up. By nature, I am skeptical when these types of events become public knowledge. I always felt that these people needed those moments and saw what they wanted to see. I struggled to give up the idea of control—the idea that we are not in control of the situation. I know now that there is only God's way, and we have to surrender.

About this time in our story, I was struggling with everything, and the world seemed so overwhelming. As I spoke about earlier, being a caretaker can take the focus off what you need and what is happening to you because you are caring for someone you love so deeply that you would gladly sacrifice yourself for them. I love my wife, and I would have gladly taken this burden from her. I prayed for that many times. I would tell God that I could carry this burden for her, to heal her and take me in her place.

At this point in our journey, I would say I was at the lowest point I could be. I remember the day as if it were just a moment ago.

I was getting off work, thinking about all the things that needed to be done. I had spoken with my wife multiple times during the day (nothing odd for us, even when we are healthy. I told you—my best friend), and she had been struggling. To hear her voice and the pain in it crushed me. Some days were worse than others, and today was one of those days.

I had to stop at Kroger to get groceries for the house, which had become routine for me at that point. On the way out, I could feel that burning in my eyes that only comes when, emotionally, you have reached your point of frustration. At my Kroger, you exit to the left side of the building, and there is a small covered area where you can leave your cart. In my case, it was a busy day, and many of the carts were gone.

To help someone, I was going to unload my groceries and give my cart to a person waiting nearby. I wasn't the only one with that thought. To my immediate left was another cart and a very nice young man who worked at Kroger, gathering carts for customers. He was busily doing so because people were waiting. We never once locked eyes.

This young man—let's call him Willard—I was aware of, but I had never actually met him. I don't shop there often, but both my father-in-law and sister-in-law had worked there in the past, and this young man had started at the very end of their time there. It was this fact that I had to keep going over and over in my mind after that day. Had we known each other? No. Had we spoken before? No.

As we were clearing out our carts—me to carry my groceries and him to remove a couple of sales ads from the bottom of a cart—we were both bent over the sides of our respective carts. I stood up first, and I believe he must have seen me out of the corner of his eye, or at least that is what I told myself.

It was at the moment I stood up straight that I was looking in his direction for the first time. As if lightning had struck him, he stiffened and stood straight up. He was a tall young man, maybe 6'3", taller than me. I don't know how to explain the movement other than to say its suddenness almost startled me. It was as if something shot into him and his whole posture and demeanor changed in a single breath.

I was taken aback and had that feeling in the pit of my stomach that only comes during life's big moments.

It was then that he turned to me.

He looked me right in the eyes.

Even his movement was different. It was not a casual turn to look at me. It was as if a soldier had snapped to attention. When this happened, it felt as though all the other people around us disappeared. I couldn't move. His eyes were so deep and piercing that I felt as though he was staring through me, not at me.

My heart started to beat faster, and I could feel the emotions building and building.

For what seemed like an eternity, he didn't speak.

I was mesmerized.

I knew at that point I was no longer going to talk with Willard.

Talk again soon...