Some people have seen it on a potato chip. Others, on a slice of pizza. The face of Jesus, or the Virgin Mary, has “appeared” in various places throughout history, with the most famous being the Shroud of Turin, the linen cloth that some people say contains the face of Jesus.
The latest example happened in an OB-GYN office. 33-year-old Amanda Foster from Kentucky says she saw what appeared to be a hand touching the cheek and head of her unborn child in an ultrasound photo.
Now, the internet is erupting, mainly with comments of support, but there are a few doubters.
“I asked the Lord to keep his hand on my baby”: Woman says “God’s hand” appeared in ultrasound
In her Facebook post detailing the incident, Foster explains: “Each time before ultrasounds I’ve dropped to my knees right in the doctors office to pray over Kyler,” she said, talking about her unborn son, Kyler.
She continued: “In my prayers for him I’ve asked the lord repeatedly to please keep his hand on my baby and whatever his plan may be to help me trust fully in it at ease.”
Amanda explained that during her first pregnancy with a son, the fetus was diagnosed with Potter’s syndrome, where the kidneys and lungs do not develop properly, along with other deformities. At the time, Amanda and her husband Kyle lost the baby.
After losing her first baby boy, the devout Christian said she moved away from God
“My thought at that time was, ‘Well, if God is going to take my son, He will take me too!”’ Foster shared.
“I developed a deep resentment and anger toward God. If that wasn’t enough, I was later told it was very unlikely I would ever have a healthy baby boy since Potter’s syndrome is more common in males.”
Amanda and Kyle went on to have two healthy baby girls. But she was still nervous about having a boy.
“When we followed up, it was gone”: Amanda says prayer helped in her other pregnancies
“I never doubted God was real, just didn’t want nothing to do with him for what he had done to me. I lived a very chaotic and miserable life for a while.”
Amanda said in 2021 she had a change of heart and finally “turned her life over to Jesus Christ in September of 2021.” After that, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy!
Now she’s pregnant with another boy, but she’s still nervous he could have complications. “This pregnancy has had its ups and downs,” Amada said on Facebook. “At his anatomy scan I was told he had an aortic septum abnormality.”
According to the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., an aortic septum abnormality, or “an atrial septal defect, also known as ASD, is a heart condition that you’re born with. People with an ASD have a hole between the upper heart chambers. The hole increases the amount of blood going through the lungs.”
“We prayed and prayed along with several others. When we followed up with a specialist it was gone,” Amanda said.
That was all it took for Amanda to start praying before every doctor’s visit.
“I began to pray before every appointment, ultrasound, that the Lord keep his healing hands on my son and continue to uphold him,” she continued. And at her last appointment, she said,“He decided to show me that he’s doing just that!”
“Amen! That is just beautiful!”: Netizens who are Christian show overwhelming support
Image credits: Amanda Foster / Facebook
Netizens have replied with a range of emotions. For the believers out there, the image is proof that God exists, and that God is good.
“Nothing to see here, just God making another beautiful piece of His handiwork,” one person said.
“Oh my gosh! That is so beautiful!!! New daily prayer for me to pray for my kids!”
“Amen, Thank you Jesus! That’s beautiful.”
“Sorry but that’s not God’s hand. You wouldn’t be able to take an ultrasound of it. Let’s be real people. No way in h**l y’alll can really believe that,” one person commented.
Another asked, “Why does it have to be God, why not an ancestor?!” Some people said simply that the image is “AI generated.”
Others seem to want an official answer: “Ask any OBGYN ultrasound tech, this is nonsense, very low IQ if you believe this. Tragic.”
“Pareidolia” is the official term for the tendency to see a meaningful image in everyday objects
Image credits: comzeal / stock.adobe (not the actual photo)
Albert Granyena, a doctor who practices in Andorra, said ultrasounds can be tricky to analyze.
“An ultrasound is a shadow-based imaging test. It gives rise to many misinterpretations, if you are not an expert,” Granyena told Bored Panda via email.
Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, an experienced OB-GYN, also weighed in. She shared with Bored Panda: “It’s not a hand but rather an artifact on the ultrasound. But if they want to believe that and it makes them feel reassured about their fetus, that’s their prerogative. I wish them the best”.
Image credits: alice_photo / stock.adobe (not the actual photo)
But there could be a more scientific explanation. Ever see a dragon in the clouds? A face created by the bubbles in your tea? Then you have experienced a phenomenon called pareidolia.
According to Johns Hopkins University: “As humans, we’re hardwired to discern such recognizable and often meaningful patterns, a psychological phenomenon referred to as pareidolia.”
Basically, that means that we humans tend to look for ourselves in inanimate objects. The man on the moon? Pareidolia.
Even monkeys see faces in inanimate objects
@kaypodgee @amandaleann30 ♬ Gods creation – daniel.mp3
And it’s not just humans that do this! A study carried out by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health in Maryland investigated the phenomenon in five rhesus macaque monkeys.
With a series of tests, the researchers found that the monkeys looked longer at photos of objects that could elicit a face than they did at other photos. “Our results indicate that the perception of illusory facial features on inanimate objects is driven by a broadly-tuned face detection mechanism that we share with other species,” the researchers’ summary said.
“Hand Of God” ultrasound sparks positive and negative online comments
