Our Lady of Medjugorje saved me ..a story from Bosnia

Scott O'Grady, the fighter pilot of the NATO forces whose plane was shot down in Bosnia in June 1995, was rescued after a successful operation in which more than 40 planes and helicopters took part, 100 soldiers and some of the best military strategists of NATO.

After his return he wrote a book about the events and the horrors he lived through after the Bosnian Serbs shot down his F-16. Describing the sufferings, hunger, thirst, cold and fear that he lived through in the course of the several days of hiding and waiting for help in the forests of Bosnia .He also reveals an interesting detail which has the most significance in the entire rescue operation.

On the third day of my hiding out, thinking about how survival is first of all a spiritual test, I experienced something amazing and unrepeatable. All of a sudden, in the stillness of my hiding place, I remembered the accounts of my mother's friend who, before the war broke out in Bosnia, had visited Medjugorje, a little place south in the country, where there is testimony about Our Lady's apparition. That afternoon I turned to Our Lady in prayer. Immediately I felt her presence. It became more and more clear and palpable right up to the moment that I saw her. It is hard to describe in words. The vision came through the strength of my feelings, and that feeling was indescribably warm, full of bliss and peace. 

Someone existed that prayed and kept watch over my return home. That vision was the most important thing that happened to me in Bosnia. It gave me the courage to hold out in the most difficult moments. Through his book the American pilot made public his own declaration given immediately after the very rescue operation: Our Lady of Medjugorje saved me!

‘ A Divine Appointment’

In a world of 7 billion souls, it’s easy to suppose that we are lost in a sea of faces, and yet each of us is 'personally, individually and independently related to God'. We have His undivided attention.

An Englishman in the early 1960’s rented a cove from the British government in the Island of South Georgia, in the South Atlantic so he could conduct an experiment in solitude. A troubled chap in many ways, in an interview before he embarked on the journey, he told reporters he was ‘looking for something’. His daughter pressed a Bible into his hand as they parted. 

He was well equipped for the 18-month stay and quickly erected his wooden hut and brought his supplies inside. After a few weeks, a highly localised Tsunami-like storm hit the usually secluded cove. A wave crashed through his window; swept him out of his bed, and straight through the wall, at which point the storm abated. Most of his hut and belongings were sucked back out into the Atlantic. 

Alone, with no communication with the outside world, he stood in a wet string vest in the freezing wind. He ran to retrieve what was left behind. He found a bag of dry clothes, a serviceable tent, dry matches, and what rations, tools and supplies were left. The ‘suicide kit’ he had prepared had been swept away but his box of vitamins remained. 

The uncontrollable fury of nature had been tempered by a benevolent hand that had ensured that the essentials remained. His own meticulous preparations and planning had instantly been brought to nought but he felt he was not alone. 

Sometimes the potter has to ‘rough-up’ the clay a bit when He throws it on the wheel and spins it ‘round (perhaps adding a little water) so it can be moulded and reshaped. During the months that followed, God prepared his heart for a more formal introduction.

After 3 months a seal hunting vessel rescued him and he left the island with his journals, a bottle of scotch, and the still unopened Bible. He sat before it on the ship, and asked God if it was He who arranged all this, opened it and his eyes fell on the words of Ps 33 Verse 7 “He gathers the waters of the sea together as in a heap, He puts the deep in storehouses.” He had another 40 years of life after that with which to build on that meeting.

Those who seek the Lord will find Him, He will prepare our hearts for it and reveal Himself.

I had hoped my own personal epiphany might look like a scene from the Cecil B De Mille movie, a mountain top, a burning bush, heavenly music....but no. It was on the hard shoulder of the autobahn near the bleakest town in Germany and on much of the 900 mile journey home on tow trucks, trains, busses, a ship but that’s a long story...

The Bargain

A young soldier found himself and his army being soundly defeated by the enemy. He and his comrades hastily retreated from the battlefield in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives. The enemy gave chase.

The young man ran hard and fast, full of fear and desperation, and soon found himself cut off from his comrades. The soldier eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave. Knowing the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the chase, he chose to hide there. 

After he crawled in, he fell to his face in the darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and protect him from his enemies. He made a bargain with God. He promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the remainder of his days. 

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance to the cave. As he watched the delicate threads being slowly drawn across the mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He thought, "I asked God for protection and deliverance, and He sent me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?" 

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would soon discover his hiding place and kill him. Soon he did hear the sound of his enemies, who were now scouring the area looking for those in hiding.One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's entrance. As the young man crouched in the darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a last-minute desperate attempt to save his own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control. As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider's web, which by now was completely strung across the opening. 

He backed away and called out to a comrade, "There can't be anyone in here. They would have had to break this spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on."Years later, this young man, who made good his promise by becoming a preacher and evangelist, wrote about that ordeal.

What he observed has stood by me in times of trouble, especially during those times when everything seemed impossible:"Where God is, a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web."~