According to the legend, U.S. marines of the 2nd and 4th Division assaulted beaches on the southwest coast of Saipan on June 15, then pushed inland toward high ground. A young leatherneck got separated from his unit in the smoke and crossfire during the 2nd Division's attack up the sloped of Mount Tapotchau. Alone in the jungle and hearing enemy soldiers coming, he scrambled to a high ridge and crawled into one of several small caves to hide.
The cave was narrow at the mouth and no more than ten or twelve feet deep. He huddled in the dark at the back of the den, his M-I ready, and tried to make himself invisible. Rifle shots rang out in the jungle below the ridge. Japanese patrols shouted and raged as they hunted down American stragglers and executed them.
Sounds of the blood hunt drew near as the Japanese climbed the ridge toward the caves. The Marine knew they would soon discover him. He might nail one or two, but in the end they would kill him.
He began to pray.
"Lord, if it be Your will, please protect me. But whatever Your will, I love and trust you. Amen."
His entire body trembled with fear as he crouched in the cave listening to the enemy's approach.
Well, I guess the Lord's not going to help me out of this one.
He expected to see a Japanese face block out the light at the narrow entrance of the cave at any moment-- or to have grenade tossed in on top of him.
In his terror, his gaze focused on a hardworking spider as it stretched a thin strand of silk across the entryway to the Marine's hideout. Busily at work, it connected other threads to this anchor. God did have his ironic side, His sense of humor.
Lord, what I need is a brick wall--and you give me a spiderweb!
The leatherneck heard the Japanese searching neighboring caves as they worked their way towards his. Finally, their shadows stretched across the entrance to his little sanctuary. He gripped his rifle, aiming it at the opening, resigned to the inevitable.
The spider had almost completed it's project, it's web glistening in the sunlight and blocking the cave's entrance. Enemy soldiers took one look at it and kept going, logically assuming that no one could be hiding inside since the spider's web appeared undisturbed.
The young Marine collapsed in disbelief and wonder. "Lord, forgive me," he prayed. "I had forgotten that in You a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."
-Retold by Charles W. Sasser
No comments:
Post a Comment