During my absence, I spent another week in Bosnia (the place of the mountain-top thunderstorm as mentioned in an earlier post!). It was actually my 3rd visit to Medjugorje where, in 1981, a group of children claimed to see the Virgin Mary every day. 25 years later, they are still having these visions – though only some (I think 3) of them still see her every day.
My husband went to Medjugorje by himself first, in 2001. The place had an amazing impact on him, hugely strengthening his faith. He went back again in 2002 and this time my daughter and I went with him. Since then, my husband has organised 2 pilgrimages, each time taking a group of around 12 pilgrims with him – and I have gone along too. So, this was my 3rd visit.
To let you into a secret (and I guess a blog should be a place where you can share your secrets!) it hasn’t been an easy thing for me. My husband is really mad about the place, but I still struggle a little. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing….. a bit of struggle can be good for us. Sometimes, things just have to be worked at.
Many people claim to have had amazing conversion experiences in Medjugorje. I have met such people, heard their stories…… and believe them. Many others see miracles there…….. the most common one being the sun spinning and other amazing things happening to it. I don’t particularly want to see anything like this myself, but I think I could maybe do with some kind of help……… in my prayer life for example ………… yet I don’t seem to get any! I guess God is telling me that there is only one way, and that’s just to put in a lot more effort myself! Oh well!
We did manage to climb the big mountain again, this time without a thunderstorm. It was a bit of a miracle actually that I even tried, as the clouds constantly threatened a downpour (somebody told us that it was the worst June weather for 50 years) and I was really too scared to attempt the climb. Strangely though, we did attempt it – on the last day – and although there were a few drops of rain on the way up, all my fear had somehow gone. I guess that was my own little miracle!
This time, we took the plane to Dubrovnik (we went to Split previously) and the scenery along the coast there was spectacular! Here is just one view: –
Holes In The Sky 