Brain Surgery and Baseball
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The following article has been excerpted from Looking for the One by David McIver.
It had been a wonderful morning of meetings and prayer, but now a massive traffic jam.
There was a chance we would miss our flight to Minneapolis. But as we neared the Denver airport, I remembered a spiritual principle. In the Kingdom of God, delays are divine opportunities. I breathed a prayer, “Jesus, show us the one at this airport who needs you.”
The good news is that we made it to our gate on time. The bad news? Our flight was delayed and then delayed again. As United served us complimentary snacks, I joined a large contingent of people watching the Bears and Packers on Monday Night Football.
As I watched the game, I felt impressed to move to a different part of the gate. Now a loudspeaker crackled to life. “The good news is that the mechanical issue is fixed. The bad news is that now we have a flat tire.”
The voice next to me was barely a whisper. “I’ll never make my appointment.” I turned and saw the look of concern on a woman’s face. She saw the question on my face. “I have a medical appointment for my husband in downtown Minneapolis. It’s for his brain tumor.” After a few words of introduction, Rose showed me the MRI of Michael’s tumor and then shared about her faith in Christ. Rose shared her concern for Michael’s spiritual life when I asked about Michael’s faith.
One of my favorite ways to share the gospel is The Salvation Poem.
Jesus, you died upon a cross
And rose again to save the lost
Forgive me now of all my sin
Come be my Savior, Lord, and Friend
Change my life and make it new
And help me, Lord, to live for you
I gave Rose a copy of the poem, and as we began to board the plane, we prayed for Michael’s appointment and salvation. A guy wearing a Packers jersey joined our circle and bowed his head as we prayed.
Rose contacted me the following day to let me know that Michael and their daughters were awake and waiting for her when she arrived home in the middle of the night. She shared with Michael about our conversation and gave him the poem. I kept in touch with Rose and found out the family was coming to a Twins game on a Sunday afternoon. Michael’s brain surgery was taking place on the following day.
When the Twins are home on a Sunday morning, I host three chapel services. One for the Twins, one for their opponent, and one for the umpires. At all three services, I shared Michael’s story and the spiritual battle for his life. “Guys, Michael is sitting somewhere in the outfield, and in a few minutes, I’m going to go meet with him and invite him to surrender his life to Christ. Today may be my only chance to speak to him in light of his surgery.” The men bowed their heads in all three chapel services and prayed for Michael’s salvation.
After chapel, Rose texted me their location, and I met Michael’s beautiful daughters, Molly, Sammi, and Hannah.
When looking for the one, there are times when you take years to develop a friendship and slowly share your faith in Christ. But when it’s the day before brain surgery, it is time for the direct approach.
“Michael, I need to know if you have a relationship with Jesus?” Michael glanced down and said he would prefer to talk about God after the surgery. He added, “I just hope the good outweighs the bad in the end.” When I tried to share that salvation is a gift we receive, the conversation came to a standstill. The game was about to start, and we were just about out of time.
As I prayed, I felt someone looking at me. Out of all the places at Target Field where Rose could have purchased tickets, she “happened” to buy seats in the row adjacent to the bullpen. Incredibly, their seats were on the end of the row next to the bullpen.
The person looking at me was Bill “Skip” Evers, one of the Twins’ bullpen coaches. Bill told me later that as he walked into the bullpen, “Something made me look up.” Bill had just been praying for Michael at chapel, so he nodded his head when I pointed at Michael. He knew this was the guy! Skip got Michael’s attention and tossed a ball in our direction. The toss came up short of the bleachers, and now several kids gathered around Michael, hoping for a baseball.
Bill didn’t know that Michael has double vision. Bill didn’t know I was at a loss for words, but he was determined to throw a ball to Michael at this exact moment.
When you go looking for the one, you get a front-row seat to the pursuing love of Jesus. Standing behind Michael, I saw the kids swarming around him. Below me, I saw Bill standing 40’ or 50’ from Michael. Now I watched in wonder as the ball soared up and began to descend.
The throw was perfect.
Michael reached above his head with both hands and caught it. Michael cried out, “I caught it, I caught it!”
Then the Holy Spirit moved in.
“Michael, is that your ball?”
“Yes!”
“Why is that your ball?” Michael looked puzzled. “Did you buy it?”
“No.”
“So why does it belong to you?”
“I caught it!”
“Michael, the delays for Rose’s flight were not a coincidence. We met for a reason. Buying tickets next to the bullpen was not by chance. Moments ago, I was trying to explain that salvation is a gift we receive. The coach who just prayed for you in chapel looks up and notices you at that exact moment. He decides to throw you a ball. Jesus did all of this so you would understand that salvation is not something you earn or purchase but a gift you receive. It’s not trying to measure up or be good enough. It’s a gift.
“You just reach out and catch it by faith.”
Michael’s eyes exploded with light. “That’s it?! I need to catch it?”
“Yes!”
Michael said what every baseball player has said when they look up.
“I got it! I got it!”
The moment Michael got it, he received it. He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and prayed, “Jesus, thank you for dying for me. Forgive my sins. I receive you as my Savior.”
It didn’t matter that a baseball game was about to start or that a crowd of people was watching us. Michael stood straight and tall and surrendered his life to Jesus. In front of his family, he committed his life to Christ. Amid the tears, we circled up and prayed together.
As they wheeled Michael into surgery the next day, he was holding two things.
In one hand, a baseball.
In the other hand, The Salvation Poem.
Michael lived for over a year but then passed away. Rose invited me to say a few words at a reception in his honor. As Rose introduced me to her family and friends, person after person brought up what had happened at Target Field. They knew! Then I shared with the group how Michael had caught the ball and received the gift of salvation. I invited each person to be like Michael. Just reach out and receive the gift of Jesus. “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” (Ephesians 5:2, italics mine).
Rose sent a beautiful note.
Dear David,
What a blessing it has been to have “tripped over you” in the Denver airport! Thank you for helping Michael accept God in your special way. I know he was a bit of a challenge for you! You have been a true gift from God for me, knowing that Michael is now at peace and watching over us all.
With gratitude.
Rose
As Michael reached up to catch a baseball, Jesus reached down to save him.
Stories of Seeing the Lost, Lonely, and Broken Through the Eyes of Jesus
“I would love to share my faith, but I don’t know what to say. My attempts feel awkward and forced. Sometimes, I push people away. I would never admit this, but I’ve started to avoid conversations about Jesus.”
Looking For The One is short stories about people experiencing Jesus in grocery stores, hospitals, and dugouts. Each story models walking with Jesus as He finds the lost through you.
As you witness the power of the gospel in your everyday life, you discover that the first life to be changed is yours.
Because as you look for the one, you become like the One.You become more like Jesus.
