John and I were in a group of four couples, chatting about our aspirations. One man who is a pilot described how he wanted to fly helicopters for an emergency medical team. The urgency of getting to the patient and then back to the hospital called to him. He is by nature a risk taker, and the unpredictability of such missions did not deter him. 

 

Another man in the group is a nurse. His expertise keeps him in demand as an instructor over and above working on the floor. But he would love to be in a chopper, dealing with life saving decisions high above the rooftops, winging toward a heliport. 

 

A third man in the group told us about his experience as a photo journalist, following a pilot as he looked for the trauma hidden by trees at a crash. The people waved their arms wildly trying to be seen, and the pilot somehow found a clearing. Our friend kept the camera clicking as the pilot landed, and the nurse took over with the intense task of stabilizing the patient. He followed them into surgery, where that same nurse helped keep the person alive. 

 

I felt humbled by their passion. Rather than retreat from danger, they were drawn toward it. The synchronicity of their abilities astonished me. 

 

God does work this way. By creating each of us with gifts that coordinate with others in a complex system of generosity, God places us as contributing parts of a larger plan. No single aspect of the human body can meet all of our needs, but instead contributes to the relay race that is aliveness. Heaven, too, is an intricate and interdependent society of angels each giving what they do best.