Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Book of Miracles
BY: Mary Treacy O'Keefe
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name."
~Psalm 91:13-15
My friend Steve lived on the East Coast but traveled regularly to Minnesota for business. During one trip, he was dining at his favorite Greek restaurant there when he noticed a waitress staring curiously at him. He engaged her in conversation and learned she was from a small town in northern Greece.
"That's exactly where my twin brother Tom is!" he exclaimed. "He's a Fulbright scholar studying Greek Orthodox icons there."
"I know. I recognized you as Tom's brother as soon as you walked in." She had just returned from an extended visit to her hometown in Greece, where she had met Tom at a local bookstore.
Steve believed things happen for a reason and a few weeks later he learned the reason for his coincidental meeting with the Greek waitress. He was back home on the East Coast when he received word that Tom was severely injured in Greece.
Tom had been walking down a rugged, seldom-used path, near a Byzantine monastery on Mt. Athos. It was the day of the feast of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary in the Greek Orthodox religion. Suddenly, the path, formed by a long-gone waterfall, crumbled and he plunged about a hundred and fifty feet, halfway down a cliff face of the mountain. Tom was knocked unconscious and when he came to he saw blood everywhere. Bones stuck out of his left arm. One of his legs was caught in a thorny bush and the other leg hung over the edge of the cliff.
Groggily he tried to determine what was preventing him from falling further. He became aware that he was being cradled on the crimson-colored shoulder of a woman, her arm wrapped around his midsection. He recognized the colors from his study of icons; the Virgin Mary was portrayed wearing crimson. Tom closed his eyes. When he reopened them he was surrounded by a brilliant white light that vanished after a moment.
Severely injured and in mortal danger, he was unable to move. He could see the tops of trees below him and began considering his options. After some time he began to despair. He was tempted to throw himself off the edge of the cliff and put an end to his suffering. No one would ever find him in that remote place.
A booming voice inside his gut responded adamantly to that temptation. "Oh no you don't! Who do you think you are that you can decide your own fate?"
Inspired, an incredible, uncontrollable survival instinct kicked in and he found the strength to crawl back onto the ledge, away from the cliff.
Tom survived the next three days on toothpaste, moss, and a handful of chickpeas and raisins. For water he pressed the damp soil between his fingers, and then licked his hands to quench his severe thirst. The raisins expanded from the morning dew and provided a tiny amount of additional liquid. He conserved his energy by yelling only when he heard a boat arriving at or departing from the coastline far below. During the darkness of night, his mind filled with the faces of everyone he had ever loved. He visualized those people handing him food and drink; he imagined himself thanking them for helping him survive.
Finally, on the third day, Tom's cries for help were heard. In dramatic and dangerous fashion, Greek villagers, monks, and an experienced rescue team arrived and carried him to safety.
The tending physicians diagnosed a broken collarbone and cervical vertebrae, a partially dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs and a severely injured left arm. They said it was a miracle that, despite his arm being shattered in thirty-two places, there was no infection, nerve damage or cut arteries.
When Steve heard of his brother's accident and the severity of his injuries, he was concerned about the limited medical care Tom might receive in that remote part of Greece. He recalled the Greek waitress he had recently met and she referred him to a wonderful local Greek doctor who helped nurse his brother back to health.
Though his recuperation was difficult, Tom knew it was a miracle that Mother Mary had been his first rescuer that day.
But that was not to be the last miracle.
During his recovery, Tom came across a series of twenty-two paintings he had drawn months before the accident. He had titled them "Out of Darkness." The paintings showed in progression a silhouetted person falling off the edge of something, then sprawling on a platform. The person went from a dark to light form as the scenes unfolded. When Tom had painted them, his intention was to portray life as a pre-game warm up, an interim step toward the end result, which is death and then eternal life. In reviewing these paintings after the accident, he was stunned by the striking similarity to his accident. Perhaps God had been trying to get his attention and he had not been listening. At the time of the drawings, Tom was in a spiritual abyss, depressed and feeling alienated from God.
During his recuperation, he experienced an explosion of personal and spiritual growth. Filled with faith, hope and charity, he aligned himself with those who suffer around the world. He knows he is never alone. God is always with him.
Tom does not view his accident as something "bad." He now believes everything happens for a reason. As he says, "We just need to be ready to listen and act on the messages we receive."
~Psalm 91:13-15
My friend Steve lived on the East Coast but traveled regularly to Minnesota for business. During one trip, he was dining at his favorite Greek restaurant there when he noticed a waitress staring curiously at him. He engaged her in conversation and learned she was from a small town in northern Greece.
"That's exactly where my twin brother Tom is!" he exclaimed. "He's a Fulbright scholar studying Greek Orthodox icons there."
"I know. I recognized you as Tom's brother as soon as you walked in." She had just returned from an extended visit to her hometown in Greece, where she had met Tom at a local bookstore.
Steve believed things happen for a reason and a few weeks later he learned the reason for his coincidental meeting with the Greek waitress. He was back home on the East Coast when he received word that Tom was severely injured in Greece.
Tom had been walking down a rugged, seldom-used path, near a Byzantine monastery on Mt. Athos. It was the day of the feast of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary in the Greek Orthodox religion. Suddenly, the path, formed by a long-gone waterfall, crumbled and he plunged about a hundred and fifty feet, halfway down a cliff face of the mountain. Tom was knocked unconscious and when he came to he saw blood everywhere. Bones stuck out of his left arm. One of his legs was caught in a thorny bush and the other leg hung over the edge of the cliff.
Groggily he tried to determine what was preventing him from falling further. He became aware that he was being cradled on the crimson-colored shoulder of a woman, her arm wrapped around his midsection. He recognized the colors from his study of icons; the Virgin Mary was portrayed wearing crimson. Tom closed his eyes. When he reopened them he was surrounded by a brilliant white light that vanished after a moment.
Severely injured and in mortal danger, he was unable to move. He could see the tops of trees below him and began considering his options. After some time he began to despair. He was tempted to throw himself off the edge of the cliff and put an end to his suffering. No one would ever find him in that remote place.
A booming voice inside his gut responded adamantly to that temptation. "Oh no you don't! Who do you think you are that you can decide your own fate?"
Inspired, an incredible, uncontrollable survival instinct kicked in and he found the strength to crawl back onto the ledge, away from the cliff.
Tom survived the next three days on toothpaste, moss, and a handful of chickpeas and raisins. For water he pressed the damp soil between his fingers, and then licked his hands to quench his severe thirst. The raisins expanded from the morning dew and provided a tiny amount of additional liquid. He conserved his energy by yelling only when he heard a boat arriving at or departing from the coastline far below. During the darkness of night, his mind filled with the faces of everyone he had ever loved. He visualized those people handing him food and drink; he imagined himself thanking them for helping him survive.
Finally, on the third day, Tom's cries for help were heard. In dramatic and dangerous fashion, Greek villagers, monks, and an experienced rescue team arrived and carried him to safety.
The tending physicians diagnosed a broken collarbone and cervical vertebrae, a partially dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs and a severely injured left arm. They said it was a miracle that, despite his arm being shattered in thirty-two places, there was no infection, nerve damage or cut arteries.
When Steve heard of his brother's accident and the severity of his injuries, he was concerned about the limited medical care Tom might receive in that remote part of Greece. He recalled the Greek waitress he had recently met and she referred him to a wonderful local Greek doctor who helped nurse his brother back to health.
Though his recuperation was difficult, Tom knew it was a miracle that Mother Mary had been his first rescuer that day.
But that was not to be the last miracle.
During his recovery, Tom came across a series of twenty-two paintings he had drawn months before the accident. He had titled them "Out of Darkness." The paintings showed in progression a silhouetted person falling off the edge of something, then sprawling on a platform. The person went from a dark to light form as the scenes unfolded. When Tom had painted them, his intention was to portray life as a pre-game warm up, an interim step toward the end result, which is death and then eternal life. In reviewing these paintings after the accident, he was stunned by the striking similarity to his accident. Perhaps God had been trying to get his attention and he had not been listening. At the time of the drawings, Tom was in a spiritual abyss, depressed and feeling alienated from God.
During his recuperation, he experienced an explosion of personal and spiritual growth. Filled with faith, hope and charity, he aligned himself with those who suffer around the world. He knows he is never alone. God is always with him.
Tom does not view his accident as something "bad." He now believes everything happens for a reason. As he says, "We just need to be ready to listen and act on the messages we receive."
http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/2011/01/A-Miracle-in-Greece.aspx?source=NEWSLETTER&nlsource=49&ppc=&utm_campaign=DIBSoup&utm_source=NL&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_term=mail.ru
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