As a kid growing up, I’ve always loved baseball. From the time I was five or six my favorite player played for the Baltimore Orioles and his name was Frank Robinson. Frank had a lot of natural talent, but what really set him apart was his grit and determination and willingness to get back up after being knocked down.

When I went into the hospital for surgery, I brought along a couple of books of light reading in case I wanted to read some. I decided to take and read Frank Robinson‘s autobiography. I have been finding it very inspiring, and while reading it, there was another example of God showing up in unexpected ways , I received a small package in the mail that was brought to my hospital bed. When I opened up the package, I found that it was an autographed Frank Robinson baseball card with a portion of a bat that he used in a game back when he played in the 50s through 70s, it came directly from a baseball card shop and I didn’t know who sent it to me. I eventually found out that it came from my friends, Michael and Melinda Cisler. Is it a coincidence that I just happened to receive an autographed baseball card from my favorite player while I was reading his autobiography? as I recovered from surgery? absolutely not! To me this is just one more of many signs from God that he is with me and paying attention to me, and this particular story reminds me of the importance of continuing to persevere even when you get knocked down. Frank Robinson went from growing up in a ghetto in Oakland and a broken home to becoming a two-time, most valuable player, Triple Crown winner, World Series, champion, member of major-league baseball Hall of Fame , and the first African-American to manage a major-league baseball club. Perseverance.