I ran into God the other day. It happened at Costco, in the candy aisle. I was with my wife, and we weren’t shopping for candy. Just on our way to the check out line. 

Understand, I don’t often find myself at Costco. I was only there incidentally.  My wife and I had been running some errands, and she said she’d like to stop there on the way home. It was on a Wednesday, and not likely to be crowded, so in we went. 

We’d found the items we wanted and were heading to the cash register when we bumped into God. He was dressed like Joe, an old friend we hadn’t seen for quite awhile. His hair was thinning and his body was very frail and wasted. He stopped and talked with us, when we found out that he was quite ill, and likely dying soon. We chatted for a bit and parted. It was only later that I realized I had encountered God. 

Like Jacob, in Genesis 28:16, who woke up after dreaming of God and a ladder and angels and said, “Surely God was in this place and I didn’t know it.” Sometimes we only recognize God after he has passed by, after he has touched our hearts. 

How did I know it was God? Because I was changed inside. Normally I would have been self absorbed and eager to get my errands done and get back home. But I wasn’t.  Right away I was concerned for my old friend, and determined to reach out to him and be of support in whatever way I could in his final chapter. My heart grew three sizes and I’m not even the Grinch. 

I think it often happens that way. People of faith encounter God and only recognize it afterward. And it’s not in huge, miraculous occurrences, but in the events of everyday life. Like Elijah, standing on the mountain waiting for God to pass, and after the hurricane, the earthquake, and the fire, discovering God in a still, small voice asking, “Elijah, what are you doing out here?”

It’s not easy to recognize God in the everyday things. But with practice, we can get better at it.