It is interesting when CMDA CEO Dr. Mike Chupp introduced me as CMDA’s itinerant Vice President of Advocacy and Bioethics. I love my job, but I have never been called itinerant before. I did not take it as an insult or as a compliment. He also recently introduced Senior Vice President Dr. Bill Griffin with the same itinerant clause. This made me ponder, and I like to ponder. All of us in healthcare, all of us in life, are itinerant.

I retired last year from orthopedic practice after 34 years. When Dr. Chupp asked if I would consider this role with CMDA, I said, “No.” I was finishing my master’s in bioethics not knowing God’s plans. I told Dr. Chupp he needed to find someone younger, smarter, more articulate, better looking, simply someone more qualified. Dr. Chupp and Dr. Jeff Barrows, my predecessor in this role, asked if I would pray about it. I could not refuse that request.

Then I pondered about God. I find it amazing how He can take a lump of clay like me and mold it to conform to His plan. “Or does the potter not have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one object for honorable use, and another for common use?” (Romans 9:21, NASB). I find it interesting how God used my years of medical practice, mission work and a new master’s degree to mold this lumpy piece of clay for this job. I told Dr. Chupp when he finds a more qualified person, then he should fire me. I considered myself itinerant.

When I started my practice in orthopedics, I did not consider it itinerant at the time. It was MY vocation, MY job, MY occupation. I was trained to work hard for this, but all of us in healthcare are itinerant in our work. God has a plan for our lives, but it is temporary. He chooses us to carry out His kingdom work at a particular time and place, but He does not need us to accomplish His will. We are privileged to be called by Him. We get in trouble when we think we are not itinerant, when we think life is all about us, when we think we are essential and necessary to carry out His sovereign plan. I want the best care for my patients, and I can arrogantly claim I, and only I, am needed for them. I find tension in knowing I am of infinite worth as demonstrated by Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross, yet I overestimate my worth.

The apostle Paul states this well: “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” (1 Corinthians 15:10a, NASB). I am dense like the Corinthians and must be reminded of this truth. Paul reminds them of Jeremiah 9:23-24 when he writes, “…that, just as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:31, NASB).

Being itinerant reminds me of three truths. First, I tend to overestimate my importance, including this role at CMDA. Second, God is sovereign, and He will carry out His plan regardless of me. It is out of love that He allows me to participate in His plan. Third, this is true for every human being, including those of us in healthcare. The apostle Peter reminds us that we tend not to think the way God thinks: “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8, NASB). We should pray as the Psalmist prays: “Lord, let me know my end, And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am” (Psalm 39:4 , NASB).

There are two different responses to being itinerant, just as there are two different responses to reality. One is to accept it and live for Christ, which brings joy and meaning to our lives. The other is to deny it and live for self. I have been asked what I miss after retiring from orthopedics. I thought I was going to miss performing surgery, but not so much, as God is using me in other ways for His kingdom. I miss the relationships I had with my patients and the relationships I had with my staff. What do you think you will miss in your itinerant healthcare career? Do you view your work as itinerant? Do your view your work as ministry? Our work in healthcare is not random. It is all part of God’s design. We are blessed to work in healthcare. We are blessed to participate in God’s grand scheme. On Mars Hill, Paul spoke this truth to the Athenians: “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26, NASB).

There is a famous line in the movie Chariots of Fire when Eric Liddell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast! And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” I felt God’s pleasure in my orthopedic practice. I now feel God’s pleasure working for CMDA.