Maybe I could have gotten one after all. Seriously, my mind traveled down several paths when I heard the good news. My thoughts were loaded with application far beyond the life and death of my hero. That prayer was good news in and of itself. I am continually amazed at how long we are on consternation and how short we are on compassion.
Trouble has a way of softening the hearts of even the most public of people.
As Mickey Mantle discovered, what he truly needed for life was the sufficient grace of God to guarantee life in the world to come. I thought as well how this marvelous grace so patiently waits, ready to receive anyone at any time. Think of the fact that God, who had been ignored and offended for a lifetime, stood without rage at the edge of eternity offering mercy and grace to Mantle's repentant heart. Richardson's wife knelt by Mickey's chair a few days before he went home to be with the Lord, asking him how he knew for sure that he had been born again. I found myself marveling again at how profoundly simple the offer of salvation is.