(Dec. 24) -- In 2009, we've endured an economy in shambles, staggering unemployment rates and an ongoing mess in Afghanistan and Iraq. But don't be fooled. It's been a busy year for God. He just happens to work in very mysterious ways and appear in strange places.
Let's look back at the Lord's unexpected travels:
Let's look back at the Lord's unexpected travels:
Jan. 26: Jesus heads to a tree in Millington, Mich., just outside of Flint, in Ron and Marilyn Bielak's backyard.
The retired pair are facing foreclosure and believed the sighting would mean help was on the way. A call to their home several months later would indicate the line had been disconnected.
The retired pair are facing foreclosure and believed the sighting would mean help was on the way. A call to their home several months later would indicate the line had been disconnected.
Europics / CEN
The face of Jesus as seen in a Kit Kat, at least according to one witness.
After one bite into a Kit Kat, the man recognizes the crispy face of Christ within the chocolate-covered candy bar. The astonishing vision emerged on Good Friday.
"I was amazed," the man says.
"I just took a bite and then I saw the face of Christ in it." One person remarks that the image looked more like Darth Vader.
MetroWest Daily News
This divine leave turned up in Sudbury, Mass.
April 11: In Boston, Mimi DiMauro finds Jesus in a maple leaf while raking the lawn with her daughter. After her story becomes public, she gets requests from several people down on their luck to get a copy of the photo, hoping to uplift their spirits.
DiMauro ends up keeping the leaf in her closet and takes it out on special occasions.
"All the experts told me to put it in a box with a glass viewing area and it should do fine," she says.
"I haven't put it on eBay; I don't want to look like a whack job."
The leaf has been described as "beyond be-leaf." DiMauro says that three-quarters of the people who see it say it looks like Jesus; the rest tend to think it's John Lennon.
Spartanburg Herald Journal
Jesus popped out on a slice of toast.
April 23: Linda Lowe of Spartanburg, S.C., has a hankering for toast with some cheese, but instead of a hot, tasty treat, she discovers the Lord Jesus Christ bubbling up.
The toast had been cooked up by Lowe's boyfriend. She puts the blessed bread aside, along with her hunger, and gives the Good Lord shelter in a plastic container, sitting on a paper plate.
That image of the King of Kings would grow a little stale in the months to come, but Lowe guards Cheese-us Christ like a family treasure.
The toast remains a popular topic of conversation among friends at her church, First Baptist North Spartanburg.
Todd Krainin, Imperial Valley Press / AP
An outline of the Virgin Mary found in a restaurant griddle caused commotion in Calexico, Calif.
April 30: A Calexico, Calif., restaurant called Las Palmas becomes the hot spot in town after the Virgin Mary reveals herself on a cook's griddle.
Soon, more than 100 people gather to gaze at the image, which would function much like a five-star review in the Michelin Guide.
Out of respect for Mary, the holy cookware would soon be relocated from the kitchen to a shrine in a storage room. And even though the divine sign is not connected to the gas, it's still the talk of the town.
Visitors not impressed with the burnt image of Mary are still encouraged to try the crispy chicken tacos or the huevos rancheros.
Wales News Service
Sweet Jesus! That must be the lord in Marmite.
May 28: Welsh couple Claire and Gareth Allen are spreading Marmite on their son's toast when they suddenly witness the Son of God staring at them from the underside of the jar's lid.
The family continue to enjoy their yeast spread except, of course, for the divine portion clinging to the cap.
The Marmite messiah is soon hailed to be more than just pot lock, or even a gooey residue.
Even though the family still doesn't consider itself religious, they've decided to embrace this special event.
University of Arizona
Is there more than just sand in this photo of Mars?
Aug. 3: Perhaps Jesus could be promoting world peace more effectively if he weren't hanging out on Mars, where he is spotted in a photograph taken by NASA.
The image was by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the etching can otherwise be described as the sand and gullies near the Hale crater on the southern part of the planet.
It may not be heaven, but to some, it's a sign of something.
AP
This image appeared on Jim Stevens' truck window for two weeks in the fall.
Oct. 27: Jesus visits Jim Stevens of Jonesborough, Tenn., in the form of condensation on his Isuzu pickup's driver-side window.
Neither evaporation nor rolling down the window proves powerful enough to erase the Lord's presence. The image keeps reappearing for two weeks.
"Nothing takes it away," Stevens says. He claims the face of Jesus is so detailed, that "you can even count the hairs on his head."
Despite having God as his co-pilot, Stevens remains unchanged. "I'm just a good ol' country boy."
AP
Mary Jo Coady says this image reassures her that "life is good."
Nov. 27: Mary Jo Coady of Methuen, Mass., finds Jesus ready to perform miracles on wrinkles. She claimed residue on the bottom of her iron has formed the face of the Lord.
With troubles in both her personal and professional lives, she believes the image was a sign from God that everything would be all right. Coady has planned to retire the iron to a closet and purchase a deity-free replacement.
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