CONTRIBUTED BY JULIE ATWOOD.

As Jennifer, Sharla, and I cruise the almost-empty aisles of Target this overcast Saturday morning—eyes peeled for human Treasures that seem, if they do show up, to scurry away from us—I wonder whether we’ll end up leaving Treasure-less.

Though several shoppers pass us garbed in blue jackets or bright pink shirts (the respective clues given to Jennifer and her daughter Cheyenne), they seem too preoccupied with shelves or shopping carts to stop and receive prayer. And our most unusual clue—Jennifer’s picture of pink hair—seems nowhere in sight. (An irony, since we saw blue hair sprouting from the head of a lady back in the Tom Thumb parking lot.)

Jennifer turns to her younger son. “Corby, go find for us a lady with pink hair.” Grinning, the small Treasure Hunter darts off down the aisle on eager feet.

In the meantime, we check out the pet supply aisle for my clue of a dog with pointed ears. But no live dogs or humans appear and, even in the signs’ photos, only the cats have pointed ears. Turning down another aisle, we spot with excitement Sharla’s clue of a man wearing a cap. But as we approach him he strides off, zipping right and left as though some radar warns him he’s being stalked.

Moments later, little Corby bounces back to us. “Mom, I see a lady with red hair.” He points to the shopper’s curls, their carrot hue clearly the color she was born with. Jennifer shakes her head and smiles at her son, then tells him to find a man in a navy vest wearing a cap (Sharla’s entire clue). Dashing round the aisle’s corner, Corby prances back in seconds with sparkling eyes. “I found him!”

This man—clad in not only a cap, but also a jacket made from the same puffy navy fabric Sharla saw in her vision—stands rooted to one spot, perusing items on a shelf. When Sharla approaches him to tell him he’s her Treasure, Jim receives the news with a warm smile. At that moment his wife Tammy shows up, wheeling her cart into the aisle. Plopped into the child’s seat, their baby daughter Chelsea gazes up at us with solemn eyes above her pink pacifier—which she chomps while clutching a pink blanket and kicking chubby legs tucked into a pink sleeper.

“You’re definitely our Treasures,” Jennifer assures the young family as she points out this additional clue of pink. Beaming with gratitude, Tammy requests prayer for their baby’s good future life . . . confirming Jennifer’s clue of praying for new life.

Next Jennifer spots Doreen, whose cart contains apples (Cheyenne’s clue) and a sack of dog biscuits. “There’s your clue, Julie,” Jennifer points out, though the pup featured on the sack sports long floppy ears instead of pointed ones. But Doreen is clearly a Treasure, as she requests prayer for her mom Shirley—who’s grieving the recent loss of her brother Tom. This confirms Jennifer’s clue of praying for those dealing with death.

In the belt section, where Jennifer stops to buy a belt for a friend, she and Sharla spot two blonde ladies (a clue Fran received). “No, thanks,” they reply when asked if they need prayer. But we hold them up anyway in silent intercession as we continue on our hunt—still straining for a glimpse of that elusive Treasure with pink hair.

“There’s your Treasures, Julie.” Jennifer indicates two spindly young girls clustered by the snack counter—one in a purple jacket (my color clue), the other wearing a bright pink shirt sporting a star (Cheyenne’s clue). But as I inch toward them, the pair lock heads to discuss where their mom might have parked to pick them up. As they scoot straight past me for the exit doors, we hold them up also in silent intercession.

Corby skips back to us with his big brother Collin in tow. “Guess what we found!”

“The lady with pink hair?” their mom responds in a hopeful tone.

“Nope. But we found a little kid with a pink cap.” Grinning, Collin stabs a finger at a spinning, giggling toddler in the kids’ clothing section. “Look. Isn’t he cute?”

We share Collin’s and Corby’s delight over the winsome tot before continuing on our search. “Let’s look for Fran and Cheyenne. Wonder who all they found?”

As it turns out, the second team of two Hunters discovered a wealth of Treasures.

“First we prayed for two girls in a blue shirt and a black shirt,” Cheyenne shares. “Ashley and Amber wanted prayer for their dad, who found out he’s got thyroid cancer. That was one of your clues, Mom.”

“Next,” Fran puts in, “we prayed for Jeanie, who has breast cancer. She told us that thankfully, they caught it early.”

Fran and Cheyenne also blessed two pregnant ladies—Laura, twenty weeks along, and Mindy, only four weeks along (garbed in a pink shirtsprinkled with Sharla’s clue of flowers). Both prospective moms confirmed Jennifer’s clue of new life.

Team Two then spoke God’s words of healing over Rita, an employee handing out samples . . . who shared health concerns about her liver (Sharla’s clue).

Blue-shirted Kathy requested prayer for her family (Cheyenne’s clue), while Debbie—garbed in in Fran’s clue of a black-and-white shirt—simply wanted general prayer.

“Then we met Sandy, dressed in a blue shirt and my clue of black pants,” Fran shares. “She told us her husband Bob is a preacher, while she teaches music in Dallas. She asked us to pray for her school.”

We respond with greatest amazement when we hear about their Treasure Suzanne. “She wanted prayer for the health of her fiance Mike,” Cheyenne shares with dancing eyes. “And guess what, Mom? Suzanne had pink-and-purple hair!”

Our Hunt—far from Treasure-less—proved chock-full of surprises and confirmations. And even though some Treasures might have raced past us seemingly heedless of our prayers, I still must trust what Jennifer—who led this morning’s Treasure Hunt—shared earlier in her devotion: “We never know what might have a big impact on someone’s life.”

For I found myself impacted by again seeing God’s visions and promises fulfilled . . . including the vivid discovery of a Treasure with pink hair.