It was a long flight and I dozed.  The crackling of an announcement woke me with a start.  “If any doctor is on board, please come forward.”  We were over the Atlantic ocean, returning from vacation.  Passengers wore  comfy stretchy pants while watching tiny tv screens on the reclined seat backs of their neighbors.  No one was dressed in medical scrubs.

“Any doctor on board, please proceed up the aisle to business class.”  Two people unbuckled their seat belts and headed forward quickly. Then another passenger hurried behind.

There were no more announcements.  And I guessed that whomever was ill received whatever medical care was needed.  The three passengers eventually returned to their seats one by one.  I could not hear the murmured conversations recounting the event, the crisis.

But what struck me was this compelling call to duty which doctors carry always in their hearts; a constant expectation of providing public service at a moment’s notice.  What if we all lived this way?  Imagine being ready to spring into action to provide healing for the sick, ready to drop what we are doing to listen to someone in need of a listening ear, ready to set aside our own plans for the sake of public service?

This is my prayer, to be used in the meantime, to be of service in between places, to be following God’s lead always, even when I’m not praying about it or thinking about it, or planning it.  To have that sense of God’s call as automatic as a public address announcement calling us to serve.  Is there a Christian in the house?